Let’s play a little quiz. Which out of the following jobs do you think you need to hold recognised qualifications for?
- A) Farrier – Making horseshoes
- B) Technically Competent Person – Honestly, this is a job, dealing with waste management
- C) Electrician – Wiring peoples’ homes
- D) Bouncer – Telling people they ‘can’t come in, them shoes is casual!’
Would you be surprised to know that every job on our list is a regulated professional designation available only to those who are fully-qualified, except for . . . electrician?
It’s true: there’s nothing stopping a person advertising themselves as an electrician when they can’t even wire a plug.
Not surprisingly, there are a number of trade bodies who want to change this state of affairs – not to mention a number of concerned home owners now nervously eyeing the person whose hands are stuck in their fuse box.
At the moment, however, the UK and Scottish governments are not proposing any further regulation of any profession.
Thankfully, most responsible electricians complete industry-recognised training and do gain qualifications, usually through apprenticeships.
And the good news is, if you’re already working as an electrician but don’t have a qualification, you can still have existing skills and knowledge assessed against industry-recognised qualifications.
Once you have the right paperwork, there are amazing opportunities to forge a career with companies who recognise and reward qualified professionals.
As an electrician not only will you be responsible for installing systems to provide electrical power to buildings, but also helping to repair things when the lights suddenly go off – as a call-out electrician this means you can be the hero of the hour (especially if that hour is nearly midnight on a cold winter’s night).
It may be you want to become an electrical engineer, designing often complex electrical infrastructure and playing a vital role in the manufacture and installation of equipment.
Part of your role may also involve testing systems to ensure safety specifications are being followed and high quality standards met.
Demonstrate that you can be innovative but also work as part of a large team, and you could quickly work your way up to becoming project manager on multi-million pound construction projects.
Why not recharge your career by taking a closer look at all of the electrical-focussed roles in Engineering with s1jobs?