Electrical contractors are among the most important and first-to-arrive contractors to enter new construction job sites to supply power for other construction operations. Lighting, HVAC and a myriad of other activities rely on electrical power to be in place. In buildings, electrical connectivity is essential to many other activities including cooking, refrigeration, lighting, charging stations, integration with solar energy and the operation of elevators, escalators and personal computers.
In order to take the license exam to become a Journeyman electrician, an individual must have a combination of 4 years of apprentice experience (8,000 hours on-the-job training), and at least 288 hours of classroom training.
Primary skills include: analyze operation of malfunctioning electrical or electronic equipment; bend and install tubing and conduit; install electrical fixtures or components; install electronic power, communication, control, or security equipment or systems; install or replace meters, regulators, or related measuring or control devices; lay out, string and install electrical wiring for buildings, etc.; inspect electrical installation for code conformance; repair or replace electrical wiring, circuits, fixtures, or equipment; use low-voltage and high-voltage apparatus; follow safety procedures; read technical drawings and schematics, work with new building information modeling (BIM) or virtual reality (VR) applications. Other skills needed to become an electrician include manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, physical fitness, and a good sense of balance. They also need good color vision because workers frequently must identify electrical wires by color.