Career Change / Business Owner - early 40s
Discussion
Kitchen fitters are in great demand and it sounds like you have the required skills etc. Go and talk to wickes and the others including local Kitchen companies. I bet at least one or two will offer you work on the spot.
Your most difficult task will be finding ancillary trades so if you can take the time while you are building the business courses in basic plastering and tiling would serve you well.
Once you have done a few jobs work will come to you in the form of recommendations.
Your most difficult task will be finding ancillary trades so if you can take the time while you are building the business courses in basic plastering and tiling would serve you well.
Once you have done a few jobs work will come to you in the form of recommendations.
Yeah, have looked at some good courses which would support the route I want to go.
I know a good carpet / flooring person waste disposal and electrician. Need to find a good tiler, I think that's key to a good bathroom or kitchen. Can do plastering but not well, haven't found anyone good and think most plasterers wouldn't be too fussed on patching work. Definitely course to look at.
I know a good carpet / flooring person waste disposal and electrician. Need to find a good tiler, I think that's key to a good bathroom or kitchen. Can do plastering but not well, haven't found anyone good and think most plasterers wouldn't be too fussed on patching work. Definitely course to look at.
I considered similar a while ago, I've managed to stumble onto a nice niche within my area of expertise so haven't pursued it further.
My view was there would be a nice niche for someone to do smart home, solar, ev chargers etc well, rather than the firms that have popped up to max out the government funding opportunities. Probably on higher end properties and bespoke new builds/renovations.
What put me off though was the training. There seemed to be plenty of additional courses for existing electricians (often aimed at targeting the government funding opportunities).
I couldn't find anything for the core electrical qualification aimed at career changers, it all seemed to be targeting school leavers and would take several years.
I might be under-estimating the requirements but personally having done maths/physics/electronics to a high level in the past and already being fairly handy I think that course would be far too slow paced. No doubt it's entirely suitable for the school leavers they're targeting though.
My view was there would be a nice niche for someone to do smart home, solar, ev chargers etc well, rather than the firms that have popped up to max out the government funding opportunities. Probably on higher end properties and bespoke new builds/renovations.
What put me off though was the training. There seemed to be plenty of additional courses for existing electricians (often aimed at targeting the government funding opportunities).
I couldn't find anything for the core electrical qualification aimed at career changers, it all seemed to be targeting school leavers and would take several years.
I might be under-estimating the requirements but personally having done maths/physics/electronics to a high level in the past and already being fairly handy I think that course would be far too slow paced. No doubt it's entirely suitable for the school leavers they're targeting though.
You can get quite compressed courses for the classroom and exam components. However, as far as I know, all routes need some form of practical on-site work, so you'd need to work under a qualified electrician for a bit in order to get that. EV charging and solar stuff is just add-ons for fully qualified electricians.
Mont Blanc said:
You would be surprised.
In our business, as an example, we value honesty, customer service, and someone with the right attitude over outright skills and a CV of "I've been doing this for 20 years".
We have technical leaders and other experienced operatives who are there to advise the people with lesser experience.
Interesting thread. I often dream of using my practical skills for work. I'm not sure I can continue the accountancy/computer job for the next 25 years, also 40 years old but not mortgage free sadly.In our business, as an example, we value honesty, customer service, and someone with the right attitude over outright skills and a CV of "I've been doing this for 20 years".
We have technical leaders and other experienced operatives who are there to advise the people with lesser experience.
Mont Blanc your company sounds a great place for career changes as you value attitude and integrity. How does it work with training? The biggest barrier to going trade later on life is getting the qualifications and practical experience. Up and until now it seems I would need to compete with 16 year old apprentices as a plumbers mate or equivalent which isn't feasible financially.
IME...
As an electrician, you'll need your qualifications to do almost everything although there are short courses to get you going but you would want to work for someone to begin with just to help with a bit of practical learning. A lot of the work is routing cables through walls etc, it's not just connecting stuff up and most of it can be very physical.
Big demand for EV charger installers right now but a lot have also been made redundant. However, they are relatively easy to install and if you are a qualified electrician they'd be easy for you. I wouldn't recommend specialising in that.
Any trade is physical and if you've sat on your arse working for 20 years and are not in the first flush of youth you do leave yourself open to injury and not being able to work.
Doing up houses is great if you have the skills and money to buy one. Cashflow might be an issue though.
As an electrician, you'll need your qualifications to do almost everything although there are short courses to get you going but you would want to work for someone to begin with just to help with a bit of practical learning. A lot of the work is routing cables through walls etc, it's not just connecting stuff up and most of it can be very physical.
Big demand for EV charger installers right now but a lot have also been made redundant. However, they are relatively easy to install and if you are a qualified electrician they'd be easy for you. I wouldn't recommend specialising in that.
Any trade is physical and if you've sat on your arse working for 20 years and are not in the first flush of youth you do leave yourself open to injury and not being able to work.
Doing up houses is great if you have the skills and money to buy one. Cashflow might be an issue though.
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