If you’re the kind of person who’s always fixing plugs, replacing fuses and mending other electrical household products – well then ‘Sparky’, why not become an apprentice in the electrical sector!
What’s it about?
There are a number of job roles and apprenticeships to choose from in this field- whether it be in Electrical and Electronic Servicing, Electrotechnical Operating or working in the Electricity Industry involved with power stations. Electrical apprenticeships are all about teaching you to make things work and you can learn to specialise in one particular area.
Starting an apprenticeship in Electrical and Electronic Servicing, deals with the service and repair of a range of electrical equipment – from TVs and domestic appliances, to aerial systems in blocks of flats.
Electrotecnical Operating is a particularly advanced apprenticeship, and it covers the installation, maintenance and repair of electrotechnical equipment – from installing electrical systems inside a new building to maintaining machinery on a production line.
While an apprenticeship in the Electrical Industry covers three main areas of the electricity industry: generation (power stations and other electricity-generating methods), transmission (the National Grid), and distribution (taking the electricity from the transmission network).
It’s a hair raising opportunity which can leave you with a bright future!
Who’s it for?
It goes without saying; you need to be good with your hands. There’s no point entering a career in this if you’re particularly clumsy, or you may end up switching the whole country’s electrical supply off by mistake!
You need a good knowledge of technology and understand engineering principles, whilst you must be methodical and follow instructions. You’ll come across many challenges and puzzles to solve, so you need to be particularly quick at problem solving and if you were good at physics and maths in school- that’ll help in this sector too!
What do I get out of it?
As an electrical and electronic servicing apprentice, you’ll choose your area of specialisation: signal reception, consumer/commercial electronics or domestic electrical appliances .Whichever you choose, you’ll cover installation, servicing and maintenance procedures. On the Advanced Apprenticeship, you can complete optional courses in water supply, building regulations and a certificate in engineering. Once you qualify you can expect a starting salary of £13k-£18k.
An electrotechnical operative apprentice specialises in one of four areas. You could learn how to build control panels for lighting, heating, air conditioning and ventilation systems or you could focus on finding faults and fixing them in a range of machinery. A starting salary of between £17k-£20k can be expected once qualified.
And finally, apprentices in the Electrical Industry learn how to operate and maintain the equipment that produces electricity in power stations. You could be diagnosing and repairing faults on machinery, testing equipment; and handling the materials that the plant uses to generate electricity- with a starting salary from £10k-£15k.
The basic frameworks (in England and Wales) an electrical apprenticeship follows is; NVQ(s), Key Skills, Technical Certificate(s), Practical Performance Assessment and Employment rights and responsibilities work. While in Scotland the framework consists of SVQ and Core Skills.
Prospects are good in this sector- employers are always on the look out for skilled employees, while you can also work self-employed or run your own business!
What vacancies are there?
Check out our electrical apprenticeship vacancies section to find the right opportunity for you!
