It’s easy to be an Electrician.

Median salary (2025)

£39,647/yr

Range £24,538 – £51,921

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, SOC 2020 code 5241 'Electricians and electrical fitters', full-time employee jobs, UK. Median £39,647 across about 91,000 full-time employee jobs, up 2.7% year on year; low is the 10th percentile (£24,538) and high is the 80th percentile (£51,921). ONS does publish a 90th percentile of £57,786 for this occupation, but its coefficient of variation is 15%, so it is treated here as indicative only and not used as the headline high. The coefficient of variation on the median is 2.7%, which is reliable. ASHE covers employees only and therefore excludes self-employed electricians. For comparison, the National Careers Service quotes £26,000 starting and £45,000 experienced.

Time to qualify

2–4 years

A Level 3 apprenticeship typically takes about 4 years including the AM2 assessment. Private fast-track or experienced-worker routes can compress this to 18 months to 2.5 years, but employers and schemes generally still expect the full Level 3 NVQ and AM2.

Cost to qualify

£0 – £12,000

An apprenticeship costs the learner nothing and pays a wage throughout (training is employer and government funded). Under the JIB's 2026-2028 national agreement, apprentice rates are frozen at their 2025 levels for 2026: Stage 1 £8.16/hour nationally (£9.14 in London) rising to Stage 4 £14.03 (£15.72 in London), with 2% and 3% uplifts due in January 2027 and January 2028. Adults choosing a private route pay roughly £7,000 to £12,000 for the full Level 2, Level 3, 18th Edition, NVQ and AM2 package. Add competent person scheme registration (around £400 to £700 a year) and public liability insurance once self-employed.

Job outlook (2025-2030)

+1.9% growth

About 1,700 openings per year

Skills England estimates the UK needs around 12,000 additional electricians by 2030 (roughly 1,700 a year), reported by the ECA's 2026 Electrical Skills Index published in February 2026. The same index found electrical apprenticeship starts fell 5.5% over the past year while apprenticeship starts overall rose 4.1%, and that of the 26,000+ learners who began government-funded classroom-based electrical courses in 2024/25, fewer than one in five progressed into an electrical apprenticeship or skilled employment within 12 months. No occupation-specific ONS employment projection is published for electricians, so the 1.9% here is derived, not official: it is those 1,700 additional electricians a year expressed against the 91,000 full-time employee jobs ONS counts in SOC 5241 (ASHE 2025). Treat it as an upper bound - ASHE excludes the self-employed, so the true workforce is larger and the real annual percentage lower.

All figures apply to United Kingdom. Salaries, licensing, and timelines differ by country — where other editions exist, switch between them at the top of the page.

How to become an Electrician — step by step

1. 1

   Meet the entry requirements Ongoing at school

   Aim for 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 including English and maths, or equivalent functional skills. Maths is genuinely used daily for cable sizing and calculations, so it is worth being solid on.

2. 2

   Secure an apprenticeship or choose a training route Up to several months to find a placement

   Apply for an Installation and Maintenance Electrician Level 3 advanced apprenticeship with an employer, or enrol in a college course or private fast-track package if you cannot find an employer. The apprenticeship is the most respected and the only fully paid route.

3. 3

   Complete classroom and on-the-job training About 3 to 4 years

   Work as a paid apprentice while attending college (often day release), building toward the Level 3 NVQ diploma and learning installation, testing and fault-finding across domestic, commercial and industrial settings.

4. 4

   Pass the 18th Edition and inspection qualifications A few weeks to months alongside the NVQ

   Sit the City & Guilds 2382 (BS 7671 18th Edition) and ideally the 2391 inspection and testing qualification, which you will need for certification and scheme membership.

5. 5

   Pass the AM2 assessment A few days of assessment

   Complete the independent AM2/AM2S practical assessment under timed conditions. Passing it confirms you are fully competent and finishes the apprenticeship.

6. 6

   Get your ECS Gold Card A few weeks

   With the NVQ and AM2 complete, apply for the ECS Gold Card recognising you as a qualified electrician and giving you access to most sites.

7. 7

   Register with a competent person scheme Weeks; renewed annually

   If you will do notifiable domestic work in England or Wales, join NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA so you can self-certify under Part P. Arrange public liability insurance if going self-employed.

Requirements to be an Electrician

• 5 GCSEs grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) including English and mathseducationOptional

  Standard entry requirement for a Level 3 advanced apprenticeship; equivalents such as functional skills are usually accepted. Not legally mandatory but expected by most employers and providers.

• Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Installing Electrotechnical Systems and EquipmentcertificationRequired

  The core competence qualification (e.g. City & Guilds 2357 / 5357), assessed in real workplaces. Holding it is what makes you a qualified electrician.

• AM2 / AM2S practical assessmentcertificationRequired

  Independent end-point practical assessment proving competence. Required to complete the apprenticeship and apply for an ECS Gold Card.

• 18th Edition Wiring Regulations (BS 7671) certificatecertificationRequired

  City & Guilds 2382. The national standard for electrical installation; periodically updated by amendment and must be kept current.

• Inspection and Testing qualification (City & Guilds 2391)certificationOptional

  Needed to certify and test installations and typically required to join a competent person scheme.

• Competent person scheme registration (NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA) for Part PlicenseOptional

  There is no single licence to be an electrician, but registration with a Part P competent person scheme is required to self-certify notifiable domestic work in England and Wales without involving building control. Scotland follows the Building (Scotland) Regulations and Northern Ireland its own Building Regulations, so the Part P self-certification route does not apply there.

• ECS Gold CardcertificationOptional

  The industry skills card proving you are a qualified electrician; commonly needed for site access. Issued after the NVQ and AM2.

A day in the life of an Electrician

Most days start early, loading the van and heading to site. A domestic electrician might spend the morning first-fixing a rewire, running cables through joists and chasing walls, then move to a fault-finding call where a fuseboard keeps tripping. Commercial and industrial sparks may work on distribution boards, containment, lighting and machinery, often coordinating with other trades. There is constant testing and certification: using a multifunction tester, recording readings, and issuing the right paperwork. Expect awkward positions in lofts and under floors, plenty of standing, and weather you cannot control on new builds. Safety is non-negotiable; you isolate, prove dead and lock off before touching anything live. Paperwork, customer chat and quoting fill the gaps. It is physical, problem-solving work where no two jobs are quite the same.

Is it worth it to be an Electrician?

Common mistakes to avoid

• Paying thousands for a short private course expecting to be "qualified", when the Level 3 NVQ and AM2 still require genuine on-the-job installation experience that the course alone does not provide.
• Assuming a single national licence exists; the real gatekeepers are the NVQ, AM2, 18th Edition and competent person scheme registration for Part P work.
• Skipping the AM2 or the Inspection and Testing (2391) qualification and then being unable to join a competent person scheme or self-certify work.
• Doing notifiable domestic work in England or Wales without competent person scheme registration or building control notification, which breaches Part P of the Building Regulations.
• Letting the 18th Edition (BS 7671) certificate lapse after an amendment, leaving your certification and scheme membership out of date.
• Enrolling on a classroom-only electrical course with no employer attached — the ECA reports over 26,000 learners started government-funded classroom electrical courses in 2024/25, but fewer than one in five progressed into an apprenticeship or skilled employment within 12 months.
• Budgeting only for training and forgetting the recurring costs: competent person scheme membership, insurance, test equipment calibration and re-sitting the 18th Edition after each amendment.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Every figure on this page traces to one of these primary sources.

1. 1Competent person schemes and Part P qualification requirements for electricians — NAPIT · accessed August 18, 2026
2. 2Earnings and hours worked, occupation by four-digit SOC: ASHE Table 14 — 2025 provisional, Table 14.7a annual pay gross, SOC 5241 — Office for National Statistics · accessed August 18, 2026
3. 3Electrical skills gap deepens as apprenticeship starts fall despite surging demand — 2026 Electrical Skills Index (12,000 more electricians needed by 2030) — Electrical Contractors' Association · accessed August 18, 2026
4. 4Electrician job profile (salary range, hours, entry routes) — National Careers Service (gov.uk) · accessed August 18, 2026
5. 5Installation and Maintenance Electrician Level 3 apprenticeship standard (ST0152) — Skills England (gov.uk) · accessed August 18, 2026
6. 6New Wage Agreement from 2026 to 2028 (3.95% for qualified operatives from January 2026; apprentice rates frozen for 2026) — Joint Industry Board · accessed August 18, 2026