There are various reasons why you may want to work as a tradesperson, including the opportunity to learn critical and practical skills that are constantly in demand.
In fact, we have a veritable shortage of qualified tradespeople in the UK, which is one of the reasons why we’re struggling to build the requisite level of housing to meet demand. This is despite the fact that the number of women who work as tradespeople jumped from 15,000 in 2009 to 33,000 just 10 years later, and the influx of trained labourers from overseas.
But what are the main benefits of working as a tradesperson? We’ve outlined three of the most prominent below:
Enjoy a Varied Career
As a tradesperson, you should note that no two days are ever the same. Even though you’ll have a defined skill with fixed parameters, the nature of the work that falls within your wheelhouse can be broad and varied.
If you’re a plumber, for example, you may attend a residential home to fix a leaking faucet. The next day, you could find yourself installing a complete shower room at a gym, which is a far more complex and immersive challenge.
This creates a certain level of interest and job satisfaction, particularly if you enjoy travelling to work in different places and meeting new people and customers on a regular basis.
Over time, it can also help with the cultivation of brand-new skills or lead to the enhancement of existing knowledge and practical experience.
Benefit from Constant Demand
As we’ve already touched on, the UK is in the midst of an ongoing skills shortage in trades such as plumbing and electricians.
This is not only leading to a scenario where the UK government is unable to deliver enough public or private sector housing on these shores, but it’s also leading to wider workforce shortages that impact on both residential and commercial projects.
Because of this, there’s an almost constant demand for skilled tradespeople in the UK, both in terms of building new homes and maintaining those that already exist. In fact, tradespeople are crucial from the perspective of keeping businesses open and functional at all times, and qualifying as a plumber, electrician or plasterer almost guarantees a steady flow of work.
Enjoy a Competitive Salary
As a skilled job that’s in high demand, you can bank a competitive salary when working as a tradesperson.
The imbalance between supply and demand in the most important trades has certainly seen the earning potential of tradespeople increase in recent times, particularly in relation to individual projects and those who work on an independent basis.
Certainly, a self-employed tradesperson can make a relatively large amount of money in the current economy, so long as you can justify your costs and create a competitive price premium that the market can bear.
This is an important consideration, as you don’t want to undervalue your skills or price yourself out of the market when compared to your competitors.