The Datum Report

Occupation 5249 · Skilled trades occupations

Electrical and electronic trades n.e.c.

Half of full-time electrical and electronic trades n.e.c. in the UK earn more than £48,571 a year, and half earn less.

Job holders in this group perform a variety of electrical and electronic occupations not elsewhere classified in minor group 524: Electrical and electronic trades.

How people enter it

There are no formal academic requirements although entrants typically possess GCSEs/S grades. Training is usually by apprenticeship and combines practical work experience and technical training. Relevant NVQs/ SVQs are available at levels 2 and 3. Manufacturers may run specialised courses related to their products.

What the work involves

• examines drawings, wiring diagrams and specifications to determine appropriate methods and sequence of operations
• places prepared parts and sub-assemblies in position, checks their alignment and secures with hand tools to install x-ray and medical equipment, aircraft instruments and other electronic equipment
• removes protective sheath from wires and cables and connects by brazing, soldering or crimping and applies conductor insulation and protective coverings
• assists with the erection of wood poles or steel towers to carry overhead lines
• connects and installs transformers, fuse gear, lightning arrestors, aircraft warning lights, cable boxes and other equipment
• connects cables to test equipment and tests for balance, resistance, insulation and any defects
• locates and repairs faults to lines and ancillary equipment

Also called

Communication engineer · Electronics engineer · Field engineer · Linesman

What it pays

How pay has changed

Median gross annual pay for electrical and electronic trades n.e.c., full-time employees, 2023 to 2025. Each point is that year's ASHE April snapshot as published — revisions are not backfilled into earlier years, and a year ONS withheld is a gap rather than a joined line.

ONS, ASHE Table 14 - occupation by four-digit SOC (national). Table

Year-on-year change

The change from each year to the next, in per cent, computed from the figures in the chart above — so the two cannot disagree.

ONS, ASHE Table 14 - occupation by four-digit SOC (national). Table

Pay by region

Median gross annual pay for full-time employees, ranked, against the UK figure. 8 of 11 regions are published: ONS withholds a cell where the survey sample cannot support it, and those are shown as gaps rather than dropped — an absent region is not a region without the work in it.

ONS, ASHE Table 14 - occupation by four-digit SOC (national). Period 2025. Table

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Common questions

Classified alongside this

Computer system and equipment installers and servicers · Electrical service and maintenance mechanics and repairers · Electricians and electrical fitters · Security system installers and repairers · Telecoms and related network installers and repairers · Tv, video and audio servicers and repairers