Electricians

No Fear, the Electrician is Here!

When our homes blow fuses or our electric gadgets require more power, we will likely call a professional to fix or upgrade the wiring. Electricians keep our homes flowing with energy! It is this highly skilled tradesman who installs, maintains, and repairs electrical wiring and equipment.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), electrician jobs numbered about 666,900 in 2016. The good news is, that number is expected to grow by 14% over the next 7 years.

Virtually every commercial and residential building has electrical power installed during construction. With interest rates remaining low over the past decade, construction projects have increased, and the installation of electrical power is in high demand. This ultimately means there is no shortage of work for skilled electricians who can fill this need.

Associations

Every industry typically has associations and organizations that promote all companies' general welfare and support workers operating in the industry. Here are two of the most recognized associations for electrical contractors:

Trade School

How long is electrician school? Similar to the different requirements for certification in each state, the length of trade school programs also depends on the state and the school the student selects. Most schools average between 500 and 1200 hours before one is eligible to receive a diploma. Many trade schools will transition students into an apprenticeship program, where they will learn from the current masters of the trade and spend 4-5 years in-classroom study.

Electrician programs teach the student a wide range of electrical topics . Here are some of the most common principles taught:

Most students find their career choice to be rewarding once the schooling phase is complete. It's an industry that will never fade into oblivion, as the world is tethered to electricity.

Employment and Occupations

According to the BLS, there are over 932,000 workers finding employment in the Electrician Contractor sub-industry, NAICS 238210. Over half the workers are electricians, with 465,220 employed. However, 467,000 additional workers find work across this specific construction sub-industry.

Here are the top five other types of workers that need PPE, outside of electricians:

Helpers-63,300 – assist electricians by holding materials and tools and being an extra set of hands.

Construction Laborers-18,310 – perform physical labor

Telecommunications Installers-17,900 – install telecommunications cables

Power-Line Installers-5,350 – erect power distribution systems

Material Movers -4,650 – transport construction material across work sites

All the above workers have one thing in common. Each of them relies on safety supplies to protect them from workplace hazards.

Electrical Technician vs Electrician

As we highlight in our article Electrical Contractors and Lineman Jobs , not all electricians are the same. Yes, all electrical workers are operating around electricity; however, some focus on lineman work and others as electrician technicians.

So, what's the difference between the technician and electrician? Simply put, the technician works on electrical devices that harness the power of electricity. You will find many of them installing and maintaining electrical equipment in buildings, such as new residential homes. On the other hand, electricians are responsible for designing the electrical plan for a building and installing all the wiring that provides power to the electrical equipment a technician may install. Both workers find employment in construction. As we highlight in our article Construction Phases , the electrical contractor performs the rough-in work, around Stage 3 of a construction plan, by wiring outlets. The technician shows up around Stage 5 to install appliances and mechanical devices that will use those outlets.

Electrician's Tools

An electrician's toolkit carries a wide assortment of tools. Electrical contractors require a handful of specialized tools, including the correct safety equipment.

Here are the tools electricians utilize to carry out the activities listed above:

Do it the safe way. Do it the right way. Do it every day...

It makes sense that so many attendees answered the way they did. When you’re working around electricity and energy sources, there is no off day. Working safely is an every day requirement, otherwise you’re going home injured, if you’re lucky enough to go home at all.

Working without the right PPE greatly increases the likelihood of possibly catastrophic injury, doing it right every day is a must, otherwise, injuries are not far behind.

Potential injuries to electricians include electrical shocks, burns, and cuts. With over 2,000 people admitted to hospital burn centers yearly with severe arc-flash burns, electricians count on MCR Safety to provide PPE to keep them safe. Within the construction industry, the overall rate of injuries per 100 electricians is less than the average across all industries. See the table below:

Keep in mind, however, when there is an injury, the consequences are severe. In order to stay safe at work, electricians must wear the proper PPE to protect themselves from hazardous working conditions. Protection includes wearing ARC-rated safety vests, FR coveralls, FR shirts, and high-quality cut protection.

Working safely is an everyday requirement if you want to escape going home injured. You have the POWER to protect yourself! At MCR Safety, we perform one function every day for a multitude of industries: Protecting People! Let us help you protect yourself on the job the right way and keep you protected for years to come.

Electrician PPE

Is being an electrician hard? We know an electrician's work is dangerous; however, being hard probably is answered differently by everybody. At MCR Safety, we design PPE to help protect workers on the job and we know our task is valued by customers. In 2018, over 10,000 attendees visited the NECA convention, which is considered the largest electrical construction trade show in the U.S. Guess what product and service over 40% of them said they were interested in learning more about during their visit? Answer: Safety equipment and apparel.

With so many users mentioning PPE, one must conclude electrical work is definitely dangerous. When you're working around electricity and energy sources, there is no off day. Working safely is an everyday requirement. Otherwise, you're going home injured, if you're lucky enough to go home at all.

To combat the potential injuries electricians may suffer, they look to MCR Safety to protect them with high-quality PPE. Here is a broad list of various PPE that MCR Safety supplies to help electricians avoid injury:

We've highlighted a lot of information about electricians and electrical technicians and thrown a bunch of industry stats at you. The remaining part of this page showcases some of the most common electrical hazards workers face and the different PPE options electricians should consider wearing while performing their work.

You might be interested in checking out our other dedicated construction sub-industry pages. Our entire construction industry home page can be found by clicking the below image.

MCR Safety's dedicated Construction Industry resource page.