Apprenticeships are becoming more and more popular with school-leavers, especially as university tuition fees rise, and one of the areas which are getting a lot of attention is electrical engineering. As long as we're still relying on the stuff, electricians won't be going anywhere fast, which in the current economic environment, is a good enough reason to consider donning the blue overalls and tooling up…

What does an electrical apprentice do?

An electrical apprenticeship will allow you to shadow professional engineers as they maintain and repair a wide range of electronic equipment. You'll see just how domestic appliances, like the ones you have at home, can be installed and fixed, learning important maintenance procedures and mending processes. Depending on which course you choose to enrol on, you may be handling smaller devices, such as televisions or stereos, or as specialised as residential aerial systems.

What makes an electrical apprenticeship so safe?

The ever-increasing rise in the amount of people using consumer electronics and the major growth in the telecommunications industry means that there'll always be job openings for electrical engineers and other employees in the sector. There is a constant high demand for electronics-based commerce and there will always be a job for a person who knows their way around a fuse box.

What's the salary for an electrical apprentice?

As an apprentice, you'll at least earn the minimum wage of £2.60 per hour. Apprentices are legally entitled to a basic salary of at least £95 per week, though it's entirely probable that you will earn more than that, on average. According to statistics, the average apprentice earns approximately £170 per week, with some offered as much as £210 per week. It's not unheard of for employers to pay their apprentices the minimum wage for a regular employee in that sector, also.

What's the salary for a fully-employed electrician?

Your salary will depend on who your employer is and what role you have been designated, which makes it difficult to say specifically. However, according to online salary information company Payscale, the average salary for an electrical engineer in the UK ranges from £20,000 to £32,000 per year.

Interested in undergoing an electrical apprenticeship?

Make sure to keep your eye on BIGDOG as we've always got loads of electrical apprenticeships on offer from a wide range of businesses. Head over to our Apprenticeships page and see what's out there!