Homeowners have to have their homes’ electrical systems checked over periodically. The check that’s performed is called an EICR check, which stands for Electrical Installation Condition Report. Most homeowners are required to have an EICR performed every ten years.
It is commonplace for landlords to perform EICR checks once a year, rather than every ten. The reason for this is so that they can verify that their properties are safe for tenants to live in.
Only a professional electrician with an EICR certificate can perform these checks, which makes being EICR certified very profitable. This post will tell you how you can get your certification, and become an electrician.
EICR Certificate
If you want to get EICR certified, then you need to book an EICR test. The test is relatively straightforward. Before applying for it, you should research the EICR certificate cost so that you know how much you are going to have to pay. Make sure that you are experienced in electrics and have done revision before applying so that you don’t fail. You won’t be given another chance to take it if you fail—you will have to rebook it and pay all over again. Failing your EICR test can be a massive waste of money.
College Courses
Before you can become EICR certified, you need to be an electrician. The rest of this article will cover how you can become an electrician. You can earn a lot of money as an electrician, but you can earn even more as one who’s EICR certified. The first step to becoming an electrician is to attend a college course. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you can attend a college course at a community college that will teach you the basics of electrics. You may be able to get a bursary or funding if you aren’t able to pay for the course yourself. College can also be a lot of fun, too.
Achieving Diploma
Once you have enrolled in a college course, you then need to make sure that you remain faithful to it and finish it. At the end of your course, you will receive a diploma. Electrical courses usually have two or three additional levels that you can complete when you finish your course. Put more simply, at the end of your first year, you can then choose to stay on and study for another two or three years. Most experts would recommend staying on for the additional levels because this will make you more attractive to employers.
Applying for Apprenticeship
Most electricians get their start in the industry by working as an apprentice for more experienced electricians. If you are young, then you might be able to get a job as an apprentice too. Unfortunately, however, if you are over 20, then it is very unlikely that anybody is going to hire you as an apprentice. The reason for this is that most companies like to hire apprentices when they are young. If you are able to secure an apprenticeship despite being older than a typical apprentice, you will probably still be paid the same amount that a teenager would.
Starting Out Alone
If you are too old to get an apprenticeship or you aren’t able to support yourself financially on an apprentice’s wages, then you could start out on your own. However, if you intend on starting out on your own without any prior work experience, then it is strongly recommended for you to complete all of the additional levels at college. You will get enough training and experience from your course to be able to work as an independent electrician. You can start your business whilst simultaneously studying, too.
Making Friends
It is a very good idea for you to make friends in the industry. The reason for this is quite simple: electrics can be challenging to work with. If you are working as an electrician and you haven’t got any prior work experience, then having friends who are electricians will give you people to talk to if you encounter any challenging problems. Additionally, they will be able to send over work to you when they have too many jobs going on, which will help you to make a name for yourself and build a positive reputation in the community.
Online Revision
While studying at college, it’s a very good idea to revise online. A lot of people studying to be electricians don’t revise at home, but if you want the best chance at becoming a successful electrician, then revision is strongly advised. If it is possible for you to do so, then you should take your textbooks from the college home so that you can study in your spare time. The more you learn, the sooner you will be able to start a business and become working independently.
Digital Marketing
You won’t be able to achieve success as an electrician unless you market yourself online. Digital marketing is a very effective way of bringing exposure to one’s business. The best form of digital marketing for electricians and contractors is local SEO. Local SEO (search engine optimization) will help you to push your site to the top of the search listings. When people search for electricians in the area that you work in, your site will appear at the top, just below sponsored advertisements. You can also market yourself physically too, by using flyers, leaflets, and newspaper ads.
Working Safely
Finally, whenever you are working with electrics, you need to work as safely as possible. A college course will teach you about the importance of safety, but won’t tell you everything that you need to know and do in order to protect yourself. The final step before you can begin working as an electrician post-college is to take an electrical safety course. At the end of one of these courses, you will be given a certificate verifying that you are experienced enough to work with live electrics (and also know what to do in the event of an emergency).
Electricians earn a lot of money. If you are looking for a job that is rewarding and pays well, then you might want to consider becoming one. More and more homes are becoming fully electric now too, which means that there will be plenty of work for electricians in the coming years.