We searched three major UK job boards (Indeed, Reed, and Totaljobs) to measure real-time demand for five core construction trades. The results weren't subtle. Electricians: 3,983 live vacancies Carpenters: 2,819 vacancies Heating Engineers/Plumbers: 2,666 vacancies Multi-Trade Operatives: 931 vacancies Bricklayers: 342 vacancies. On Totaljobs alone, electrician roles outnumbered bricklaying positions

Budget 2025 announced a £150 average reduction in household energy bills from April 2026, achieved by ending the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme and shifting 75% of Renewables Obligation (RO) costs from consumer bills onto general taxation. For households struggling with energy costs, this is welcome relief. The Treasury will

Here's what keeps showing up in training enquiries: "I've been working as an electrician for 7 years but never did an apprenticeship. How do I get qualified now?" Followed closely by: "Can I skip the NVQ if I've got experience?" and "What's the difference between EWA and gap training?" Honestly,

The JIB Gold Card is the UK electrical industry's most recognised credential. Pass your NVQ Level 3, complete your AM2 assessment, and you're officially a qualified electrician. But here's what the training ads won't tell you upfront: your Gold Card doesn't come with a fixed salary attached to it. JIB

The question comes up constantly from electricians who've been working for years without formal qualifications: "Can I get my Gold Card without doing a full apprenticeship?" or "I've got 8 years experience but no NVQ, what are my options?" The answer is the Experienced Worker Assessment, but the confusion around

The question comes up constantly from learners researching electrical training: "Do I need Level 2 before Level 3?" Followed immediately by: "Can I skip Level 2 and go straight to Level 3?" and "What's actually different between them?" Honestly, the confusion makes sense because training providers market courses with varying

Every single week, someone asks us the same question: "Should I go JIB or stay CIS?" Sometimes it's phrased as "Do I need the JIB card?" or "Why would I work for £19 an hour when agencies pay £26?" And occasionally, it's the YouTube-fuelled classic: "My mate's cousin's electrician earns

You've completed Level 2 and Level 3 diplomas. Theory exams passed. 18th Edition certificate secured. You understand BS 7671, you can calculate voltage drop, you know your testing sequences. And now you're stuck. Not because the knowledge is missing. Because the site experience isn't there. You need employment generating portfolio

The question comes up constantly on forums, in Facebook groups, in phone calls to training providers: "Do I have to quit my job to become an electrician?" The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is: it depends which bit you're talking about. Here's the thing. The UK is

The question shows up constantly in training enquiries, on Reddit, in Facebook groups: "What actually is the NVQ 2357?" Closely followed by: "Is it the same as Level 3?" and "How long does the portfolio take?" Honestly, the confusion is understandable because training providers deliberately blur the lines between technical

Yes. You can retrain as an electrician after leaving the Armed Forces, and the data shows you're more likely to succeed than civilian learners. Veterans over-index in skilled trades (18.8% compared to 8.7% for non-veterans), bring discipline and technical backgrounds that employers actively want, and benefit from specific funding options

If you're a qualified electrician outside the UK wondering whether you can work here, the answer is yes, but not immediately. Foreign electrical qualifications are not automatically recognised in the UK. You need to prove your competency meets UK standards through a structured conversion process that typically takes 6-12 months

You can become an electrician if you're colour blind. It's legal, it's possible, and thousands of colour-blind electricians work successfully across the UK right now. But there are additional considerations, adaptations, and barriers you need to understand before pursuing this career. Here's the context that matters. Colour vision deficiency affects

The question comes up constantly from learners approaching the end of their electrical training: “Do I take AM2, AM2E, or AM2S?” Closely followed by: “What’s the difference?” and “Which one is harder?” Honestly, the confusion is understandable because all three are practical end-point assessments lasting 2.5 days, all test installation,

The question appears constantly across Reddit, ElectriciansForums, and training enquiries: "I've completed Level 3, am I qualified now?" Followed immediately by confusion when the answer is no. Then comes: "I've worked as a sparks for 8 years, can I start the NVQ?" Sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on what that

In January 2025, thousands of JIB-graded electricians saw their hourly rates increase by 5%. That's the second step in a two-year pay deal agreed between the ECA, Unite the Union, and the JIB National Board back in 2023. The first uplift, a 7% increase, landed in January 2024. On paper,

Assessment visits confuse NVQ learners more than any other qualification component. You've uploaded 80+ photos showing installations across domestic and commercial projects. Your portfolio contains witness statements from qualified supervisors. Testing certificates document insulation resistance, continuity, and RCD verification across varied circuits. Then your training provider schedules "assessment visit" and

The new JIB wage agreement covering 2026 to 2028 has landed, and reactions across the electrical industry range from cautiously optimistic to openly frustrated. The headline figures look decent at first glance: a 3.95% increase from January 2026, followed by 4.6% in 2027 and 4.85% in 2028. That's roughly 14%

The question appears constantly in training enquiries and forum discussions: "I've got 4 years experience, should I do the standard NVQ or the Experienced Worker route?" Followed by confusion when providers give conflicting advice. One says you qualify for EWA 2346 because you're experienced. Another insists you need the standard

Changing careers at 40 can feel like standing at the edge of something significant. Maybe you’ve been made redundant. Maybe you’re exhausted by office politics. Maybe you’ve spent the last decade wondering what it’d be like to work with your hands instead of staring at spreadsheets. Whatever the reason, the

Yes. You can absolutely become a qualified electrician in the UK without completing a traditional apprenticeship. It's not only possible but increasingly common, especially for adults in their late 20s, 30s, and 40s who cannot access apprenticeship places or cannot afford apprentice wages. But let's be clear about what this

Yes. Absolutely yes. You can become an electrician with zero electrical experience, and it's not only possible but extremely common. If you're 28, 35, or 42 years old and wondering whether you've missed the boat, you haven't. Adult retraining is now the norm, not the exception. The UK construction industry

In the year to March 2025, 8,795 police officers left forces in England and Wales. That's 6.0% of the workforce walking away from policing. Nearly 4 in 10 of those leavers had less than five years of service. One in six left within their first year. At Elec Training, we've

The Office for National Statistics dropped its latest employment figures on 11 November 2025. UK unemployment has climbed to 5.0% for the three months ending September 2025—the highest since early 2021. That's 1.7 million people aged 16 and over now out of work, up from 1.6 million the quarter before.

Electrician Gadgets Worth Actually Buying in 2025: From Budget Kit to Professional Upgrades Electricians love gadgets. Always have, probably always will. Whether it’s the latest multifunction tester, a tool kit upgrade, or even something practical enough to count as a stocking filler, s parks are constantly looking for kit that

Where to Fit a Consumer Unit: Stop Hiding Them Behind Boxes and Actually Think About Access Finding the right spot for a consumer unit sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many boards end up mounted next to the ceiling above a downstairs toilet where you can’t even get the

Are they actually Safe? Yes, But Not for the Reasons You Think Short answer: yes, electrician jobs are safe from robots. But not because the work is magically immune to automation. It’s safe because construction is chaos, sites are u npredictable, and every property throws curveballs that robots can’t handle

The Department for Education announced this week that it won’t rely on specific Ofsted grades to intervene with poorly-performing apprenticeship providers for the next 12 months. Instead, it’ll take a “case-by-case” approach during the transition to Ofsted’s new inspection regime, which scraps the old “inadequate,” “requires improvement,” “good,” and “outstanding”

The EAS Just Changed the Rules: What Every UK Electrician Needs to Know Before October 2026 The Electrotechnical Assessment Specification got a major update in October 2024, and honestly, if you’re registered with NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA or any other Competent Person Scheme, you need to know what’s coming. The thing

China announced new export controls on lithium-ion battery technology in October 2025, effective 8th November. The restrictions cover high-performance batteries, cathode materials, graphite-based anode materials, and specialized manufacturing equipment. For the UK (and Europe), this is a wake-up call about just how dependent we’ve become on Chinese battery supply chains.

So on 16th October 2025, around 250 people were evacuated from the IKEA store in Wembley after approximately 100 solar panels on the roof caught fire. Five fire engines and around 30 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade tackled the blaze, which started just after 10:30am and was e xtinguished

So whilst we’ve been talking about green jobs rhetoric in England, Scotland has just opened something that’s actually pretty impressive. First Minister John Swinney officially opened Scotland’s largest energy transition skills hub in Aberdeen last month, and honestly, the scale and coordination of this project is worth paying attention to.

Right, so the government keeps talking about 400,000 new green jobs by 2030 to 2050 (the timeline seems to shift depending on who’s making the announcement). It sounds fantastic on paper. But here’s the thing: when you actually dig into the data, the picture gets a lot more complicated than

Right, so whilst we’ve been talking about the UK’s green jobs situation, it’s worth looking at what’s happening across the pond. Because honestly, some of the approaches in the US to renewable energy workforce development are pretty interesting, and there might be lessons here for how the UK could do

So, you’ve done your Level 2, Level 3 electrical installation, and 18th Edition, congrats, honestly. But now you’re looking at the 2357 NVQ and thinking, “Right, what’s actually needed to get fully qualified?” Let me break this down for you. If your one of the, I got no experience and

JIB Wage Deal 2026-2028: What It Actually Means for Your Pay Packet Right, so the Joint Industry Board (JIB) and Unite the Union have just agreed a three-year deal that’s going to lift graded-operative wage rates by almost 13% between January 2026 and January 2028. And honestly? It’s pretty significant

Look, electricians keep homes bright, factories humming, and the grid safe, and honestly, earnings can be just as varied as the jobs themselves. So we’ve pulled the latest figures into one place, including entry pay, regional u plifts, and what happens when you niche into renewables or testing. Looking to

Is the 19th Edition Wiring Regulations Coming in 2025? Let’s Talk About It Right, so rumours about a brand-new 19th Edition Wiring Regulations book have been doing the rounds on social media, WhatsApp groups, and even a few training-provider blogs. Some posts claim a 2025 release, others insist you should

Right, so this article sets out to answer pretty much every burning question you’ve got about how to become an electrician in the UK. Over the past few year, we’ve seen these questions pop up constantly in forums, and honestly, we get asked the same things by hundreds of students

Right, so breaking through from improver to fully qualified electrician hinges on a single milestone: earning your NVQ Level 3 (2357) and then getting your AM2. If you’ve been Googling “how to get NVQ Level 3 electrical” but still feel lost in acronyms, logbooks, and AM2 nerves, this guide is