SUPPLY & Demand

[Dave Buchan]

Hi guys,
I don’t want to be the prophet of doom but I stumbled across a piece of info I feel I really should share with you (some of you probably know this already)
Ok, here it is from the NAPIT website;

BIG SURGE IN STUDENTS ON TRAINING COURSES TO BE ELECTRICIANS
In the last year, the electrical industry has been the most popular career choice for nearly 100,000 students.

This boost for the industry and the consumer has been welcomed by trade organisation NAPIT, the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers, which, since its formation in 1992, has made solid progress in enhancing the success and excellence of its membership through the promotion of professionalism, best business practices and leadership for the electrical and allied industries.

The latest figures show that 97,411 people signed up for courses in the electrical trade, more than 34,000 ahead of 62,987 who chose social care, while hairdressing came in third with 47,506 City & Guilds students. Fourth and fifth places, respectively, went to 43,474 enrolling for construction courses while 43,335 students signed up for the catering industry.


Demand & supply are the two most important factors which influence current market prices of commodities and services today, If you have a skill that is in demand you will be paid accordingly.

Looking at these figures and reading a lot of your good posts that you guys are submitting (where you are constantly trying to justify your prices) isn’t it any surprise that prices and labour rates are getting forced down ?

May I also ask who you think ultimately profits from this?

The consumer?

The training provider?

The competent person scheme?

All three?


One thing I can certainly guarantee you is that it is definitely not the installer!

 

[pushrod]

Unfortunately, i think you are spot on with your comments

 

[malcolmsanford]

Well I remember the days of super-hod and then the amount of people that wanted to do that.

It was then plumbers a few years back after someone said they earn 70k a year.

Now it's the sparks. After 70% of these realise it's not all driving about in a van and fitting a socket and charging 100 pounds.

That in reality it's lofts, insualtion, chasing walls, crawling under floor boards, Switching on a CU and everything goes pop and it's 6pm at night after you been there all day on that CU change, working on outside lights with the conduit sticking to your hand, or in a boiler house in the summer and it's over 100c, trying to move a 50HP motor, or getting that first lovely 3 phase belt that makes your arm go numb.

Be interesting on how many stay at it.

 

[johnboy6083]

the selling point of any electrician is experience. You can only get experience by doing the job, and by doing a good job, or else you get the boot from youir employer. With only a limited supply of jobs, then the employers can afford to be picky about who they want. Im currently employed on the Isle of grain power station, and N.G baileys were struggling to find blokes with the experience and qualifications/tickets to work on power stations. This is despite trhousands of blokes being out of work. Now im only commenting about te agency/employers side of things, its a completely different ball game regarding legitimate self emlpoyed blokes/ladies.

Of all of these 97411 new entrants to the courses, a lot are going to fail, drop out, or qualify and then work in a different sector due to lack of jobs ect.

I do however agree about the supply and demand theory, but remember that electricain is an all encompassing term, and that you can specialise, and therefore have your specialist skills in demand.