How to Become an Electrician in the UK

There are no fast-track routes to becoming an electrician. There are ‘domestic installer’ schemes available from competent person schemes such as NICEIC and NAPIT, however, these are options for qualified electricians.

Many electricians choose to specialise in domestic installations only. If this is your preferred option and you have suitable employment you may wish to consider our Domestic Electrician Apprenticeship or domestic EWA, subject to eligibility.

This depends on the route you take. The ones we offer are:

Installation/Maintenance Electrician Apprenticeship

• City and Guilds 5357 Installation/Maintenance Electrician

Domestic Electrician Apprenticeship 

• City and Guilds 5393 Domestic Electrician

Diploma Route

• City and Guilds 2365 Level 2 and 3 Diploma in Electrical Installations
• City and Guilds 2357 NVQ in Electro-Technical Technology

Experienced Worker Assessment

• City and Guilds 2346 Level 3 installation/Maintenance Electrician Experienced Worker Assessment
• City and Guilds 2347 Level 3 Domestic Electrician Experienced Worker

Generally, an apprenticeship takes around 3-4 years. If you undertake the Diploma & NVQ route, the timescales can vary, but most people complete it in 2-3 years.

Electricians are the highest earners of all the trades. On average, an experienced electrician earns around £42,000 p/a.

Source: https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/electrician

There are many excellent reasons to become an electrician and join this ever-growing industry. Once you have your core skills and qualifications, there are so many areas to move into. It is an exciting and financially rewarding industry.

With experience, you could:

• become an electrical design engineer
• become a site or project manager
• set up your own business
• train apprentices or teach in further education
• Diversify to install green technologies such as solar, battery and EV charging points.

You can start your electrical training on our Diploma route, however, you will need to be employed to complete your training.

There are many areas you may wish to diversify into once you become an electrician including domestic, commercial and industrial. You may consider working with green technologies such as EV charging, solar PV, battery storage, smart homes, wind or heat pumps. You could also consider Periodic Inspection & Testing, electrical design or HVAC. The possibilities are endless!

You can start self-funding your training on our Diploma route. You will need suitable employment in the electrical industry to complete your NVQ and AM2.

If you find suitable employment at any point, you may wish to transfer to one of our funded apprenticeships to complete your training. For more information visit our apprenticeship page.

It’s best to reach out to reputable electrical contractors and employers, such as housing associations or builders.

When you enrol on one of our courses, you will have access to a job board, where you can find job notifications from the many employers we work with.

An NVQ is not a training programme, it is an assessment framework that assesses your skills in the workplace. When you have completed your portfolio, there is one last assessment known as an AM2 assessment, which is your final assessment of competency. The time taken to complete an NVQ can vary, but it can be completed much quicker if you have a lot of variety in your job.

Great news! You can now consider one of our bolt-on courses including:

• EV Charging (2921)
• Solar PV
• Energy Storage
• Inspection and Testing (2391)
• 2396 Electrical Design (2396)
• PAT Testing

To name just a few. Please browse our website for more information, or get in touch.

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