Looking for a new career?
If you’re looking for a new career in a field that offers specialist training, attractive starting salary packages and long-term career progression then becoming a smart meter engineer could be right for you. The demand for qualified smart meter installers is currently high as utilities providers and the metering companies who supply them with personnel seek to recruit the numbers needed to meet the government’s ambitious target of smart meters in around 27 million homes by 2020.
Smart Meter Pre-Career Requirements
The great news for those looking for a new career in the utilities industry is that there are very few pre-requisites. Smart metering is as valid a path for the green school leaver as it is to the recently redundant or ex-service personnel. As long as you have a pass in GCSE maths and English, some basic practical skills, a clean and current driver’s licence, a successful DBS check and eligibility to work in the UK you should easily secure yourself a place on a smart meter training program providing you can demonstrate your self-motivation and commitment to customer care.
Smart Meter Training with ECTA
ECTA training are one of the foremost industry skills training providers in the UK and are running comprehensive smart meter training courses from their customised centre in Stockport. With Level Two Diplomas in gas, power and dual fuel installation, there are plenty of options for anyone looking for a new career as a smart meter engineer, whether they have a utilities background or are new to the field.
ECTA have teamed up with specialist metering companies and recruitment organisations, supplying motivated apprentices in return for the field placements needed for installation practice and assessment.
Included in over 300 hours of specialist ECTA training are all the theoretical and practical skills needed to teach students how to safely remove, install and test metering equipment. There are also learning modules focused on developing customer communication and service training skills. This is to ensure engineers are able to meet Ofgem’s priority of effective communication with smart meter customers who are likely to have many questions and will need to understand how to economise using their portable monitoring units.
Successful gas and dual fuel candidates will also receive ACS CMA1 and MET1 qualifications which are essential for working within the gas industry.
With regards to course fees, there may be government grants available to help towards these and ECTA also offer a finance agreement. A small wage may also be paid by those metering companies taking on an ECTA apprentice to help them with their living expenses.
Benefit’s of Securing Work in the Smart Meter Industry
The smart meter rollout offers both competitive short-term employment and long-term prospects for those looking for a new career. Given the scale of the demand for engineers, starting packages tend to be generous with a good salary often complemented by bonus schemes, a vehicle, fuel card, uniform and safety equipment, tools and smart mobile devices (for booking appointments and customer communication). Smart meter engineers receive a lot of autonomy and are expected to manage their own workloads giving them a high degree of job satisfaction.
The skills learned on an ECTA smart meter training diploma are highly transferrable within the utilities industry, increasing job security. Smart meter engineers often move quickly into stable domestic or commercial gas or electricity work, either on a specialist practical level or by taking on a supervisory or managerial role.
For more about the smart meter rollout and ECTA training, including course training fees and available places, please email [email protected] or call ECTA on 0161 4805656.