How to become an electrician in the UK

6 minute read · 2026-08-28

Electrical work is one of the best paid trades in the UK and one of the most misunderstood routes to get into. A lot of people spend money on a short course, finish it, and discover they still cannot call themselves a qualified electrician. This guide explains the sequence that employers and industry bodies actually recognise.

What an electrician does day to day

Domestic work is rewires, consumer unit changes, fault finding, extra sockets and lighting, electric vehicle chargers and solar, mostly in occupied houses where you are also a guest in someone's home. Commercial and industrial work is a different rhythm: containment, tray and trunking, cable pulling, panel work, three phase distribution, plant and machinery, and increasingly data centres and battery storage. New build sites run in two passes, a first fix of cabling before the plaster goes on and a second fix of accessories and terminations afterwards.

Testing and inspection is a trade within the trade. Producing an electrical installation condition report means methodical dead and live testing, interpreting results against BS 7671 and writing up findings you can defend.

The qualification route that counts

There is no single certificate that makes you an electrician. The recognised package is roughly this:

Level 3 Diploma in electrical installation, or the Installation and Maintenance Electrician apprenticeship standard, which usually runs about four years and combines college with paid work.
NVQ Level 3 portfolio evidence, built from real jobs on real sites and signed off by an assessor.
AM2, the independent practical assessment at an approved centre. Passing it is the gate to being treated as qualified.
18th Edition wiring regulations, City and Guilds 2382, typically three to five days and commonly £350 to £600. It is a knowledge qualification, not a licence to work alone.
ECS card from the JIB, which is what gets you onto site. The gold installation electrician card requires the NVQ and AM2.

Afterwards, inspection and testing qualifications such as the 2391 series open up EICR work, and registering with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT lets you self certify notifiable domestic work under Part P. Older tradespeople with years of experience but no NVQ can use the experienced worker assessment route to convert what they already do into the formal qualification.

Be careful with intensive adult packages. Some are genuinely good and include a route to the NVQ and AM2. Others sell classroom units for several thousand pounds and leave you needing an employer you do not have. Always ask what the package leads to, in writing.

Realistic pay

Apprentices are paid the apprentice rate at first, which is set annually and published on GOV.UK, rising with each year of the programme. Electrician's mates and improvers are commonly advertised at £13 to £16 an hour. Qualified domestic electricians are typically advertised at £35,000 to £45,000 employed, and JIB graded approved electricians on commercial contracts often exceed that once travel time, lodge and overtime are counted. Self employed day rates are commonly quoted at £180 to £280 depending on region and specialism, out of which come your van, tools, insurance, scheme membership and unpaid quoting time.

The parts nobody mentions

You will spend more time in lofts, crawl spaces and ceiling voids than the adverts suggest, often in dust and insulation. New build sites in January are unheated. There is real driving between jobs, and the certification paperwork is a serious part of the week rather than an afterthought. The trade is also unforgiving of shortcuts, because the consequences of poor work are not cosmetic.

Getting the first job and progressing

The strongest start is an apprenticeship, and you can begin one as an adult, not just at sixteen. Failing that, get an ECS labourer card, take a mate's position with a contractor and build NVQ evidence on the job while studying at college one day a week. Approach small local firms directly rather than only applying online, and list every ticket and its expiry clearly on your CV, as our guide to writing a CV that gets read explains.

Beyond qualifying, the routes are approved electrician, testing and inspection specialist, site supervisor with SSSTS, project engineer, design, or your own firm. Renewables and EV infrastructure are where much of the new work sits.

Next step: browse current electrical vacancies to see which cards local employers ask for, and if you are still weighing up trades, compare it with our guide to becoming a plumber.