Electrician
Install, test and repair wiring, lighting, controls and low-carbon tech in homes, workplaces and new buildings.
- Salary£26,000 – £45,000
- Hours37 to 45 hours a week; you may be on call (National Careers Service)
- Working for yourselfSelf-employment is common
What the job is like
Electricians put the power into buildings: wiring new homes, fitting lighting and smart controls, testing installations to make sure they are safe and tracking down faults when something trips. If you enjoy electronics, logical problem-solving and precise, careful work, this could suit you well.
It is also one of the trades most closely tied to the move to cleaner energy, with work on solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and low-carbon heating controls. Qualifying properly takes time, but it opens doors to supervision, design, specialist work or running your own electrical business.
What you'll do
- Install wiring, sockets, lighting and consumer units in homes and businesses
- Test and inspect electrical systems and certify that they are safe
- Find and fix faults in circuits, controls and machinery
- Fit smart controls for lighting, heating and security
- Install data and fibre-optic cabling
- Work on solar panels, EV charge points and low-carbon heating controls
- Read drawings and plan cable routes
- Attend emergency call-outs
Where you'll work
- Indoors
- In customers' homes
- Construction sites
- Working at height
- In a team
- On your own
Skills and hobbies that help
Weighted by how much they matter in this job, from the official job profile's skills and tasks. Tap one to see other careers that use it.
Key skills
Used a lot
Handy to have
Hobbies that give you a head start
How to become an electrician
Apprenticeship
Installation and Maintenance Electrician – Level 3 apprenticeship (ST0152), typical duration 54 months, for industrial, commercial and domestic work.
Domestic Electrician – Level 3 apprenticeship (ST1017), typical duration 36 months, focused on homes.
T Level
T Level in Building Services Engineering for Construction, choosing the electrotechnical engineering specialism. Colleges usually ask for 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 including English and maths.
College
Electrical installation courses give you useful knowledge, but you will still need workplace experience and on-the-job assessment to become fully qualified.
Other ways in
Experienced Worker Assessment (EWA): if you already work as an electrician without a Level 3 qualification, you can have your skills assessed. There are two routes, one needing at least 3 years' experience and the other 5 years.
The Army and RAF also offer electrical apprenticeships.
Qualifications, licences and cards
- ECS card – the electrotechnical industry's card; apprentices get an Apprentice card and qualified electricians work towards the ECS Gold Card
- Level 3 electrotechnical qualification (through an apprenticeship or the Experienced Worker Assessment)
- Current wiring regulations (BS 7671) qualification – needed, for example, for the Maintenance Electrician gold card
- Competent person scheme membership if you want to self-certify electrical work in homes in England
Where it can lead
- Site supervision or contract management
- Estimating and electrical project design
- Specialist work such as solar, EV charging or low-carbon heating controls
- Training apprentices in a further education college
- Setting up your own electrical business
Good to know
- Electrical Careers (an industry careers site) says that for someone starting from scratch, four years is the usual time to qualify, and urges caution about intensive courses that promise a quick route.
- Apprenticeships are open to people of all ages, so this is a realistic career change as well as a school-leaver route.
- In England, electricians who join a competent person scheme can self-certify that home electrical work meets building regulations.
- Work can be cramped or at height, and you may need protective clothing.
Courses and training
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T Level
Find a T Level near you – T Levels (Department for Education)
Two-year technical courses for 16 to 19 year olds in England, with an industry placement of at least 315 hours. Search for schools and colleges offering the T Level you want.
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Short course
Apprenticeship units – Skills for Careers (Department for Education)
Short courses of 30 to 140 hours for employed people aged 19 and over in England, arranged by your employer. Units include EV charging point and solar PV installation, electrical and mechanical fitting, and mechanised welding.
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Assessment
Experienced Worker Assessment (EWA) – Electrical industry scheme
A route to qualified electrician status for people who already have several years of electrical experience. It is not a shortcut for beginners.
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Apprenticeship search
Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK
The official GOV.UK service for searching and applying for apprenticeship vacancies in England.
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Course search
Find a course – National Careers Service
The National Careers Service search for college and training provider courses in England, including Skills Bootcamps.
Official information
- Electrician job profile – National Careers Service
- Installation and maintenance electrician apprenticeship standard
- Domestic electrician apprenticeship standard
- Electrical Careers: the right training takes time
- Experienced Worker Assessment for electricians
- ECS card types
- Electrician careers on Go Construct
Sources
We checked these pages in September 2026. Rules, pay and courses change, so always confirm with the official source.
- National Careers Service: Electrician nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/electrician
- Installation and maintenance electrician (Level 3, ST0152) skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st0152-v1-2
- Domestic electrician (Level 3, ST1017) skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st1017-v1-1
- ECS card types ecscard.org.uk/card-types
- Experienced Worker Assessment (EWA) electrical-ewa.org.uk/
- Electrical Careers: the right training takes time electricalcareers.co.uk/joining-the-industry/the-right-training-takes-time/
- Competent person schemes (GOV.UK) gov.uk/guidance/competent-person-scheme-current-schemes-and-how-schemes-are-authorised
- T Level: Building Services Engineering for Construction tlevels.gov.uk/students/subjects/building-services-engineering