When most UK anime fans picture life after college, they imagine creative gigs, retail shifts, or coding boot camps, not clipping earth wires inside a cold switch room. Yet the skills that keep LED walls glowing at comic-cons are the same skills that power heat pumps, gaming rigs, and city data centers. Elec Training, a specialist provider in Birmingham, argues that the shortage of licensed electricians is an opening for hobbyists who already know how to solder a figure stand or re-wire a desk lamp. Electrician courses could be the answer.
The hidden tech behind every con
Step into any UK anime convention. You will see giant screens looping seasonal openings, stall after stall loaded with backlit display cubes, and phone-charging stations for miles. All of that runs off temporary boards fed by three-phase power. A qualified electrician signs the paperwork before the first cosplayer collects a badge. According to the Association of British Theatre Technicians, events now hire nearly twice as many sparkies as they did in 2019, because LED walls and VR booths draw heavier loads than old projectors.
Jamie Patel, 26, spent years attending cons as a fan. He took a short domestic installer course during lockdown, then upgraded to Elec Training’s Level 3 diploma last year. “I used to queue for signatures,” he says, “now I wire the stage before sunrise, grab lunch, and still have time to shop for artbooks.” Patel earns a day rate of £220 on weekend events, more during e-sports tournaments.
What the training looks like
Elec Training’s flagship pathway starts with a ten-week boot camp. Students learn safe isolation, basic circuit theory, and the art of bending conduit without kinking it. After passing the 18th Edition wiring regulations exam. Electrical courses will allow you to become a full qualified electrician.
Why the country needs more sparkies
Britain faces a shortfall of about 14,500 electricians per year through 2028, CITB figures show. Net zero plans call for millions of heat pumps and home EV chargers, yet many councils wait months to sign off new installs because local firms are booked. Salaries respond. Newly qualified electricians often top £30,000 within two years, overtime can push pay well higher. For anime fans doing zero-hour retail or delivery gigs, that jump changes life quickly.
A recent survey by the Learning & Work Institute found that VAT on private courses still scares off applicants. Elec Training fights the price tag with payment plans, interest free. They also team up with local job centres to offer bursaries for learners under 25.
Transferable geek skills
Electronics hobbyists already understand polarity, solder joints, and ohms law. Model kit builders develop patience and tidy workmanship, two traits tutors beg for. Many Elec Training students arrive with modded arcade sticks in their backpacks, proof they are not afraid of a wiring diagram. That head start shrinks the steepest part of the learning curve.
How to start
1. Brush up on maths, focus on ratios and simple algebra.
2. Book a site visit, Elec Training runs open evenings twice a month.
3. Apply for the Level 2 diploma if you have no prior study, or jump straight to Level 3 with experience.
4. Plan your finances, tuition ranges from £6,000 to £7,200 before VAT, payment stages lower the hit.
5. Buy decent hand tools, cheap screwdrivers slip and round off terminals, nobody wants that.
A word on safety culture
Anime circles love DIY, but mains voltage is unforgiving. The first week of training drills safety isolation until it becomes reflex. By week four you learn fault finding under time limits. Instructors emphasise that you can cosplay as Denji or All Might on the weekend, you must act like a professional on the board.
Conventions, streaming rigs, and clean-energy homes all need clean circuits. If you are the friend who always fixes the RGB strip behind the TV, maybe your next upgrade is not another figure, but a set of insulated side-cutters and a place on Elec Training’s next cohort, the grid, and the anime scene, could use your spark.
