average wage of a sparks in the current climate

Discuss average wage of a sparks in the current climate in the Business Related area at ElectriciansForums.net

Paul m.
Did my 2391 in 2007 in wales under Ila wales they paid first 200 quid .
Wouldn't bother with jobcentre they don't know anything,would try careers office though their not just for teenagers, they might point you at funding.
 
Kamikaze. Yes mate so did I. They only needed someone to cover local work whilst they sent half if their sparks away on a rewire, they just forgot to tell me or pay me. A lot of work for no money now going down to route of ccs, found out they use trades like this all the time, long story, I won't post any more.

Problem is no one is interested unless you have the 2391, loads of suitable jobs out there if I had it. I may become a male escort and report back what the average wage is, I bet the perks of the job are better
 
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Paul

I'm finding that a large % jobs being advertised are bullcrap, agencies are just taking names. Ive experienced this a few times now, so as a mate of mine who moved up to Lincolnshire last year.

The 2391 is a good paper to have, but Ill be honest with you, mine as not done me any real favours this year. Some people I know are still earning well, in with the right people without all the certs etc.

It got really tough in 1994 and feels the same right now. Back then there was no internet, so agencies could not flood job sites with bullcrap adverts just to get names on their books.

Whats ccs mean?
 
funkguppy said:
Unfortunately Paul, so do i think it's a great country. I only spent a short time in Canada, had plans to emigrate to Nova Scotia, was ready to go, but personal reasons stopped me from taking the leap. I now live in a nice place, see my son regularly, surrounded by friends and family and am pretty content. Where i live now has been home for most of my life, so doubt if i'd move away now. Home really is where the heart is.I work for a company, and do a bit of work outside to top up the wages. I'm seriously considering becoming self employed, but realise after reading this thread and others that we don't live in the best of times, so may build up the business while still employed.

My employed rate is about £15 per hour, but no overtime, etc... just a salary. For that i have to look after 14 buildings, PAT testing, intranet and data switches, phone network, teach electronics, fire alarms, organise outside contractors, fire risk assessments, unblock toilets, etc... Feel like i'm being used a bit. I feel like i could do this for myself and earn a lot more, though i know it's going to be hard work, and it does frighten me a bit. I've always been used to a salary.

On an optimistic level, i can see (and have seen it before a few times) that when there's a recession, things don't get done, but still need doing, and when we come out of this there will be a lot of work for us. Take Kent schools for instance. A report has found that 520 state schools in our county are in need of urgent repairs and a lot of these need rebuilds. This work has been put on hold, but will have to be done at some point in the future. Same applies to housing and new business startups that will all need our skills when they open up.

I can see, and it always happens just before an election, good times ahead on the jobs front. We should all grit out teeth, get through the next two years as best we can, and be ready for the gold rush. The one thing that does need sorting out though, is the confusion that PART P has bought into our industry. I personally would like to see the government take control and issue some kind of professional card which would only be issued to fully qualified tradesmen, either through qualifications and experience combined, or training and exams. My appprenticeship back in the early eighties was in electronics servicing, and i have C&G and EITB qual's, but have been doing commercial electrics for 20 years now, 10 with the MOD. Have 2391, 2377, 16th and 17th edition. I like to think i'm fully qualified, but others may beg to differ as i'm not JIB and didn't serve an electricians apprenticeship. Don't know what you think?

Sorry, going on a bit here, but i love the forum. I love the debates, the opinions, disagreements, sarcasm, etc... I find it as useful a tool as any i have in my toolbox. Great bunch of lads.

Tony.
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I think in the domestic world we should have 2-3 levels only and each one able to sign off their own work. A kitchen fitter should be able to run new spurs etc and connect to board if required. Sign off etc. Its not rocket science. And would allow more people to get on with doing work legally.

I sometimes see electrical work as over complicated . I could repair cars without any formal training and it would be legal Then kill people having not done the brakes well etc !!

Just how many accidents /deaths are there a year from domestic electrical issues caused by electricians ?
 
LukeD said:
I think in the domestic world we should have 2-3 levels only and each one able to sign off their own work. A kitchen fitter should be able to run new spurs etc and connect to board if required. Sign off etc. Its not rocket science. And would allow more people to get on with doing work legally.

I sometimes see electrical work as over complicated . I could repair cars without any formal training and it would be legal Then kill people having not done the brakes well etc !!

Just how many accidents /deaths are there a year from domestic electrical issues caused by electricians ?
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If the kitchen fitter can fit a few spurs, then can I fit a work top, tile and do the painting?
 
of course. without wanting to do you down, there is an argument for being multi talented. Why NOT offer the whole service. I am a spark, but i don't leave the plastering of my chases up to others. Or the painting either. Offer the whole programme and increase your appeal.
 
Thats how i first started years ago. I was a "Decorative painter" (Fancy paint finishes and bloody great money !) Got asked to find someone to run in some 5 amp sconce bed lights. took 4 days to find a electrician to come. He charged a fortune and never made good. So another 2 days later to bond and skim.. Now i thought "that looked too easy" so started to do it myself and go to college etc
I win, I earn more, customer does not have to wait and its a lot cheaper all round. Also less people in the house .
 
paul.m said:
Kamikaze. Yes mate so did I. They only needed someone to cover local work whilst they sent half if their sparks away on a rewire, they just forgot to tell me or pay me. A lot of work for no money now going down to route of ccs, found out they use trades like this all the time, long story, I won't post any more.

Problem is no one is interested unless you have the 2391, loads of suitable jobs out there if I had it. I may become a male escort and report back what the average wage is, I bet the perks of the job are better
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Kamikaze is shaking his head in despair!
As for the male escort idea, you be careful…lol. It’s a huge responsibility being the ultimate sexual fantasy. Women’s hearts are easily broken. :D
 
This thread is doing nothing for my motivation.

Maybe there needs to be a new "section" on the Forum named "Becoming an electrician" where this thread could be moved to and all new people looking at the trade as a new occutpation/venture could brouse through the input and make up there own minds!!
 
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Generally speaking, £25 an hour offshore self employed. May sound a lot, but that's for 2*84 hour weeks + 6 hrs travel to and from rig - and 2 weeks off with no pay in between. What really sickens me is that I was earning the same amount 5 years ago with the same client on the same rig.
 
would you like to play a game of chess........I play quite well.....(quick pull out the plug).......I'm afraid I cannot allow you to do that.....hahahahahah aaaa hahahaha ...(nooooooooooooooah).. :)
 
skyrider said:
are you polish?
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Is who Polish and dose it matter? Long as the person has gain all relevant qualifications and doing the job correctly, paying his/her taxes I can't see the problem. We are all from different backgrounds but all follow the same electrical enlightenment.
 
no skyrider I am not a Pole! I am Scottish, dont call me Polish , I was making a reference jokingly to the Movie 2001 when the machine becomes aware and turns on the characters, you have obviously not seen that it was probably before your time.
 
Hang on... whats all the Polish Bashing going on?

If they are doing a good job and paying their way then so be it. I put my hands up and say in many ways a lot of trades deserved to lose their jobs over the years due to been so lazy and charging so much.
Its a brave new world and in many ways we can learn from the Polish
 
LukeD said:
Hang on... whats all the Polish Bashing going on?

If they are doing a good job and paying their way then so be it. I put my hands up and say in many ways a lot of trades deserved to lose their jobs over the years due to been so lazy and charging so much.
Its a brave new world and in many ways we can learn from the Polish
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ill let you open it..

worms.jpg
 
LukeD said:
"I here By declare this can of worms open"

I stand by my words... The Polish in many ways have made it better. You have to be a lot better now, Work harder etc

It tends to only upset those that feel they dont have to move forward
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I hope to feel that way in the future when some pole is doing your job and sitting in a council house getting every benefit going and working for £8 an hour for some beer money.And when you say you can't live on this and need more money than this and face
losing your house you might learn where alot of the forum members are coming from.
 
flyingsausage said:
I hope to feel that way in the future when some pole is doing your job and sitting in a council house getting every benefit going and working for £8 an hour for some beer money.And when you say you can't live on this and need more money than this and face
losing your house you might learn where alot of the forum members are coming from.
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And what about those English also claiming everything they could get etc.
Here In LOndon I know all about trades been affected by Polish workers etc. But those that have taken on the challenge are doing well. They are now starting work a lot earlier etc and not taking so many breaks ! Also the Poles i know are not exactly working for free ! They are all doing £150 a day etc . The biggest issue is Customers getting more and more into using them. The customers rank them as better workers.

Its not right etc , but i feel a lot of the problems where caused by "lazy over priced" trades people . I just wonder how many of us are happy to use cheap mechanics etc when it suits us? I know i do , and they have never once let me down. yet my "local" garages run by Greeks and Indians who have been here for years over charge and look like they have not got a clue! They just bash away with hammers.

No one wants anyone to lose their home etc , but its not just cheap labour causing the issue.

I can remember doing a site job in the late 90's , most of the trades seem to turn up when they wanted, stuff their faces all day long and then go home early. Big smug grins as it "was all right" Now i see the same types complaining !
 
For every Pole working in London or antwhere else in the country that means that one person who was born and bred is out off work.
And in response to LukeD there is alot off hard working sparks on the dole right now but can't get work because the Poles are under cutting them
Grantr37 is right about the back stabbing and lowering rates of pay.The last three years have been hard for most sparks and we still have another few hard years in fornt off us.But the rise off agency labour means the we will all be worse off in the long run.When these parasites taking all the money out of the trade and not putting anything back in.
The amount off young sparks in their early to mid twenties leaving the trade is alarming and the same with older sparks having to get jobs as taxi drivers,delivery man,bar work.And the constant need to upgrade and renew tickets out off your own pocket,mean there will be a shortage of tradesmen in the future.
 
so.... what to do? The Poles came over here because its better for them etc and its legal. Just as many went to germany and spain and took jobs away from the locals there years ago

We can all sit and complain, thats life. "Europe" is all messy at the moment. And its dog eat dog. Until a good body stand ups and says enough it will continue. Ask yourselves who stands up for you? Any fancy organization etc you pay money to each year ? No !! they are also taking money from the Poles etc .

Like many here, this month will never pay for itself . But rather than get angry i just try to work harder and keep my clients happy.
But i see many "sites" now with almost no English working. "they" want their own and its hard luck. The Government does not give a ---- about any of us.

But wait until mid july and them we will start to see the beginning of the next part of the recession ... Its not getting any better
 
The only way to collapse the situation is for everyone to not register etc . Demand the Government takes action and the Likes of NECEIC etc control foreign registrations etc . But this will never happen ! If huge amounts of work could not be signed off then this country would have a issue...But you all know that most will not stick together and try and get as much work as they can. The days of the British standing up for themselves and each other are over, The french do it a lot better
 
When brits went to germany it was for the same money as the germans not less. Plus we were there because they didn't have enough sparks for the work.
 
i hate it when people say thatpoles ect are better workers than us brits. In my opinion and experience that just isnt true. Dont get me wrong ive worked along side some brilliant polish sparks, and fantastic polish scaffolders. Put it this way, if you are motivated enough to leave your own country and work away for months at a time, then you are going top work hard, because you are likely to be a motivaed and determined person. Polabnd have their own fair share of people who dont want to workl ect, but the majority of them are sat in poland, not over here. im sure the foreigners like our tradesmen for the same reason as above.

Times are hard at the mo for everybody with rising fuel, food ect, and wages not rising to keep up. Wages lowering all the time, and not enough jobs to go round. all we can keep doing, is working hard, not living outside our means, and keeping our chins up. It aint gona get any easier any time soon.

John
 
The French farmers know how to look after themselves.They block the ports and the motorways and get workers from other sectors to come out and support them.
You look at the mass portests when they were putting the pension age over there to 62.They must have been laughing at us when Blair and Co put the plans in place for us to go up to 68
 
so... what is the answer, do we all complain on forums and nothing happens ? or do people in this country stand up and say "enough" like we did "poll tax" style.

Unless those in the Industrial business stand up for themselves etc then this time next year you can be sure it will be 30% worse.
 
how can you say that it is ok for poles to work here when a bloke can employ 3 poles for the price of a british bloke which I think is horrific. The four week wonders are worse cos they work for peanuts and it puts the rate down for everyone else.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
 
Despite these debates going on here and many other parts of the media etc, i see very little in the way of solving the problem?
Those that employ Poles etc might only be doing it so they themselves can survive etc ? Contracts are worth less so the costs must be lowered etc . Its messy and will get worse.

But again.... its never going to change until the trades people in this country put their tools down and block access to the suppliers etc .

I for one have noticed that far more suppliers are been paid in cash, this means not only are people working cheaper they are not paying tax etc . In my book people working with lots of cash tend to be "iffy"
something has to be done . what is worse,,, a poles working cheaper or a Brit working cheaper and not paying tax etc ? same thing, both ruining this country , Yet "one" only gets the criticism !
 
To say the poles work harder than brits is just plain silly. Yes the majority of poles we see in the UK are hard working, but what we don't see are the lazy ones back in Poland...

At the moment the biggest leech on our trade are agencies and sites like My Hammer. Thats where we need to start. Cut out these slimy middle men.
 
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I run my own small business, i currently have 1 spark, 1 trainee & 1 subby working for me. I pay my spark £140pd & the trainee £60pd & the subby does price work but not full time
I do mainly domestic refurbs. I charge my clients £65 per point. I generally get my guys to do the projects whilst i run about organising materials meeting customers & liasing with other trades etc, in between that i do several call outs a week & small maintenance jobs charged out at £70 per hour. & then there's all the admin, pricing invoices etc. We are based in West London, work at the moment is plentiful. All in all at the end of the year i make about £50k (although 08/09 was considerably less due to the financial collapse). May seem like a lot but its not great for all the responsibility & stress of running your own business. Despite the dramatic rise in copper I have not been able to put my prices up for several years due to the fragile economy, so despite having a higher turnover than a couple of years ago my profit is pretty much the same. So the purpose of this entry is to show you both sides of the coin. & i am also interested to know if my figures campare to anyone out there in similar circumstances.
 
flyingsausage said:
Nothing will ever happen because if anyone stands up and says I am not working for that there is now a hundred at least happy to take the job
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EXACTLY.... Supply and demand. The Traitorous Government - of Tory blue or Liebore red (with the support of the Unions) ships 'em in for the companies to use; in order to maximise their profits (and the Government's coffers) and keep the workers down. So all this talk of strikes, riots, protests etc etc is totally meaningless. The ONLY way that things will change is to close ALL the borders and expell all foreign workers!!!
Is that going to happen??? No. Net immigration, will only increase. And in the mean time, the unemployment rate for British workers will continue to rise.
OH and for those of you whom think that this is some sort of Right-wing rant NOTE I said BRITISH NOT WHITE.
 
Ken

Its all self feeding now and more and more out sourcing is going on behind closed doors along with bringing in cheaper and cheaper labour, they call it free movement lol.

I learned a while back, the powers up above have to look after each other, this as been going on for hundreds of years, only now its done in a more civilized manner.

You know also debt helps keep people under control and while people keep taking on more of it, the big players love it lol.

These threads will be going for hundreds of years to come, because history keeps repeating its self lol
 
millwall ken said:
EXACTLY.... Supply and demand. The Traitorous Government - of Tory blue or Liebore red (with the support of the Unions) ships 'em in for the companies to use; in order to maximise their profits (and the Government's coffers) and keep the workers down. So all this talk of strikes, riots, protests etc etc is totally meaningless. The ONLY way that things will change is to close ALL the borders and expell all foreign workers!!!
Is that going to happen??? No. Net immigration, will only increase. And in the mean time, the unemployment rate for British workers will continue to rise.
OH and for those of you whom think that this is some sort of Right-wing rant NOTE I said BRITISH NOT WHITE.
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still will not work far too many scum white families trawling the high streets smoking and eating KFC, overweight and no wish to ever work. Like their kids and parents etc . This is not due to there been no work, its down to huge amounts of lazy people all been fed by those that do work.

You expel foreign workers and i guarantee every hospital in the UK will close, there will be no bus drivers etc . We whites that do work hard rely a lot on others to help the world work around us. What we need in this country is to restore the natural work ethic and stop thinking that we all have to be rich . Life is not good for many of us
But i get more angry with whites telling me its their right to get fat. look ugly and sit watching chav tv all day. Some of these foreigners have gone through hell to get to this country . Not all of them are work shy etc We need to build this country and anyone paying their way should be part of it . ALL others need to be well and truly kicked into touch . Sterilize those that will never work .
STOP THE ROT
 
this past 12 months i've been on 11,50 pr hr to 14,50 pr hour, from Cornwall up to Wiltshire, and everything inbetween, Money wise, Seems to be around 13,50 on average for me thou, that was Domestic/Commercial and semi=Industrial work, Although I've had my Fare share of BASKET this past 12 months,
 
LukeD said:
still will not work far too many scum white families trawling the high streets smoking and eating KFC, overweight and no wish to ever work. Like their kids and parents etc . This is not due to there been no work, its down to huge amounts of lazy people all been fed by those that do work.

You expel foreign workers and i guarantee every hospital in the UK will close, there will be no bus drivers etc . We whites that do work hard rely a lot on others to help the world work around us. What we need in this country is to restore the natural work ethic and stop thinking that we all have to be rich . Life is not good for many of us
But i get more angry with whites telling me its their right to get fat. look ugly and sit watching chav tv all day. Some of these foreigners have gone through hell to get to this country . Not all of them are work shy etc We need to build this country and anyone paying their way should be part of it . ALL others need to be well and truly kicked into touch . Sterilize those that will never work .
STOP THE ROT
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And how would all these people buy KFC and MuckDonalds - without the dole money? Obviously, if you were to expel foreign workers then this would have to be part of a complete overhaul of the entire system. Especially the Education and the Benefits system. These would have to be completely ripped up and redrawn but like I said this ain't ever going to happen, and things are only going to get more and more worse.

PS: I notice that you have only mentioned white scum in your statement - why? Why are people too scared to mention 'idleness' among other races? ALL races have good and bad.
After all, I've heard it said that it is only 'those white scum who follow alien cultures and ethics who bring shame to the indigenous white population.'
So how do you answer that? This seems like a pretty racist comment to me... But it also seems to be generally true. What do some of the other blokes think.
 
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