Help!! Irish self employed Sparks Thinking of moving to London..

[peter_k800]

Hi Guys,

Hope ye can give me some advice and help here.
Im a self employed sparks in Ireland and iv been out on my own for about 4years now but getting nowhere so i was thinking of moving to London in November but i need all the help i can get from ye as i dont know where to start.
I see ye talking about jib cards, and different wiring rules part P etc and im not sure what i need to do to get ahead or even where to start as i would like to get sorted before i leave here so i know it will be worth my while.

Also what is the going rate over there that i could expect and is there much work over there??

Thanks an advance.

Peter.

 

[oldtimer]

I think under european law the uk has to accept ypur qualifications and that fine but it is hard over here where i stay Edinburgh is going the same way as London ie a lot of europeans flooding in to find work but this has a knock on affect ie it is diluting our setup

 

[Arnold Layne]

Peter, if you choose to move to London you will be entering one of the most brutal markets in the EU for electricians. The cost of living is high so unless you have access to low cost housing you will struggle. You are unlikely to be able to get anything other than agency work. You will be competing with every other of the 27 EU nationalities that are here and more besides. What you need will depend on what type of work you want to do. If you want to work on the commercial/industrial sites you will need an ECS/JIB card. The card carries a grade, the grade is based on qualifications. Oldtimer is correct about mutual recognition but unless you have the equivalent of an NVQ 3 and underpinning theoretical knowledge you will not be graded as an electrician, but something else ie Labourer, adult trainee, improver. This will affect the rate that the agencies offer you. If you can meet the qualification requirements to be graded as an electrician you will be charged for the card and to take a test. If you want to work for the big companies who have the work then you will need further H&S certificates IPAF etc for which you will pay. If you do all of this then agency labour, graded electrician, is selling at £13 per hour in london ( there are lower rates) If you don't have an electrician grade then you are looking at £8.50-£10.00 per hour. Then depending on the agency you may have additional costs to process your payments, then you have tax..I am sorry to be a counsel of despair but that is how it is.

Part P relates to domestic work only, of which I know very little. But if you want to set up on your own, do domestic work and sign it off then you need to be Part P compliant. There are a number of scheme providers , the most reputable being the NICEIC. You can take the course but you will have to pay. Then you have to find work.

I am sorry if all of this sounds negative, but you did ask. There is an over supply of electricians and work is scarce. So unless you are desperate the streets of London will be a very cold and hostile place for you to be. Maybe things are not so bad where you are after all. Good luck.

 

[bawall]

Peter I think Arnold sad it all it is a tough area i am just outside London and have an ecs gold card and IPAF and i have been scratching for work if your determined to make the move see if you can get in with a local company who has a london branch and transfer and then they would pay for training to work over here as starting from scratch would be tough
but good luck in whatever you decide to do.