Day January 22, 2026

The adverts make it sound simple. Five days, £500-£1,000, walk out calling yourself an electrician. Minor Electrical Installation Works Course. Part P trained. Job done. Here's what actually happens: you spend the money, you get the certificate, and then you discover you can replace light switches and add sockets to existing circuits. That's it. No new circuits. No consumer units. No work in bathrooms. No site employment. No pathway to NVQ Level 3 or ECS Gold Card. You've learned to do the tasks that barely pay while missing the qualification that actually opens doors. 

Fast-track domestic installer courses are everywhere. Scroll through Facebook ads or Google search results and you'll see claims like "become a qualified electrician in 4 weeks" or "start earning as an electrician this month." The reality is considerably more complicated. The difference between a Domestic Installer and a Fully Qualified Electrician isn't just semantics. It affects what work you can legally do, what sites you can access, how much you'll earn, and whether you'll hit a career ceiling at £35,000 or progress to £60,000+ with specialist roles. It impacts insurance coverage, legal liability under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and whether major contractors will hire you.