Day February 9, 2026

Electrical apprenticeships get marketed as the "proper" route into the trade, and in many ways, they are. But the gap between the marketing and the reality is substantial enough that roughly half of people who start one don't finish. That's not a criticism of apprenticeships themselves. It's an acknowledgment that they're designed for a specific type of person in a specific life situation, and if you don't fit that profile, four years of low wages and uncertain progression can become unsustainable fast. 

You're a qualified electrician with years of experience. You've wired commercial buildings, troubleshot complex faults, supervised apprentices. Then you move to the UK and discover your qualifications don't automatically translate into a Gold Card and site access. Frustrating? Absolutely. But the UK's recognition system isn't designed to dismiss overseas training. It's built around a specific principle: demonstrated competence to British standards, not just paper qualifications.