Day December 17, 2025

JIB apprentices in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland receive a 2% wage increase from January 2026 across all four stages of their training, while their fully qualified colleagues benefit from a larger 3.95% rise. For a Stage 1 apprentice, this means moving from £8.16 to £8.32 per hour nationally (£9.14 to £9.32 in London). For a Stage 4 apprentice nearing qualification, it's £15.50 to £15.81 nationally (£17.37 to £17.72 in London). These figures sit within a three-year deal that brings 13.8% cumulative increases to graded electricians but offers apprentices only the 2% adjustment in 2026, with no separate apprentice-specific percentages confirmed for 2027 and 2028. 

The numbers matter because they determine whether electrical apprenticeships remain financially viable for school leavers, whether adult career changers can afford to retrain, and whether employers can justify the total cost of taking on apprentices (which extends well beyond the hourly wage to include National Insurance, pension contributions, college release time, and JIB benefits). With inflation running at 3.8% CPIH in October 2025, the 2% nominal increase means apprentices face approximately 1.8% real-terms pay erosion in 2026, continuing a pattern where statutory minimum wages rise faster than early-stage apprentice rates.  This article breaks down exactly what JIB and SJIB apprentices will earn at each stage in 2026, how these rates compare to statutory minimum wages and fully qualified electrician pay, what the 2% rise means in real purchasing power against rising food, housing, and transport costs, how much it actually costs employers to take on apprentices once all on-costs are included, and whether electrical apprenticeships remain competitive against retail and hospitality jobs paying £11 to £12 per hour with no training requirement.