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Domestic appliance service engineer
Hours
40 per week
Starting salary
£12,000 + per year
Domestic appliance service engineers install and repair household appliances. These could include cookers, washing machines, fridges and freezers. They might also deal with items like televisions and hi-fi equipment. If you enjoy practical work and fixing things, this job could be perfect for you.
To be this type of engineer, you should have excellent problem-solving skills. You should be a reliable person. You will also need good communication and customer care skills.
You do not always need qualifications to do this job, however in most cases you would need to have done some sort of recognised training.
WorkDesc
The work
As a domestic appliance service engineer, your duties could include:
- visiting customers to carry out planned safety inspections
- installing new appliances in customers' homes
- responding to call-outs for emergency repairs
- giving quotes for insurance purposes
- arranging replacements when faulty equipment has to be repaired in a workshop
- making sure that there are enough parts in stock
- recording work details, preparing invoices and dealing with payments
- keeping business accounts in order (if self-employed).
You would use a range of hand and power tools, and electrical measurement and testing instruments, including computerised fault finding equipment.
Increasingly, you may be involved in refurbishment, recycling and safe disposal of older appliances in line with electrical waste regulations. For more information see the waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) page on the Environment Agency's website.
HoursDesc
Hours
You would normally work 40 hours a week, Monday to Friday. You may have on-call duties to cover evenings and weekends, or offer a call-out service if self-employed.
You would mostly work in customers' homes, but could carry out some repairs in a workshop. You are likely to spend quite a lot of time travelling from job to job.
IncomeDesc
Income
Starting salaries can be between £12,000 and £15,000 a year.
Experienced engineers can earn between £16,000 and £22,000 a year, and engineers with specialist skills, such as gas servicing, can earn over £25,000 a year.
Additional allowances may be offered for call-out duties.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
EntryRequirementsDesc
Entry requirements
You do not always need qualifications to do this job, however in most cases you would need to have done some sort of recognised training. You may also find it difficult to get public liability insurance without qualifications. See the following website page for information about public liability insurance.
You could take a college course such as:
- BTEC National Certificate and Diploma in Electrical or Electronic Engineering
- EAL Diploma in Advanced Electrical and Electronic Principles
- City & Guilds Progression Award in Electrical Electronics Servicing at levels 2 and 3 (contains options in TV, DVD and PC repair).
You may be able to start this job through an Apprenticeship scheme. You will need to check which schemes are available in your area. To find out more, see the Apprenticeships website.
You will need to have normal colour vision for electrical work, and you may also need a driving licence.
Previous experience and/or qualifications in any of the following areas may help you when looking for work:
- electrics or electronics
- mechanical engineering
- plumbing or gas servicing
- refrigeration.
TrainingAndDevelopmentDesc
Training and development
You would usually train on the job under the supervision of more experienced staff. Depending on the area you work in, you could take one of the following NVQs:
- Electrical and Electronics Servicing at levels 2 and 3
- Mechanical Engineering Services: Plumbing at levels 2 and 3
- Domestic Natural Gas Installation and Maintenance at levels 2 and 3.
If your job includes servicing electrical appliances you are likely to need the following certificates:
- City & Guilds Inspection, Testing, Design and Certification of Installations (2391/2)
- and City & Guilds 17th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations (2382).
If you are servicing gas appliances you will need to be on the Gas Safe Register (formerly known as Corgi Registration). See the Gas Safe Register website for more information.
The Domestic Appliance Service Association (DASA) offers a membership scheme for independent service engineers as well as details of codes of practice. See the DASA website for more information.
SkillsAndKnowledgeDesc
Skills and knowledge
To be a domestic appliance service engineer, you should have:
- good practical skills
- excellent problem-solving skills
- a reliable and punctual approach to work
- the ability to work unsupervised
- basic IT skills
- the ability to write reports
- good communication and customer care skills
- an understanding of health and safety, and electrical waste regulations.
MoreInformationDesc
More information
Gas Safe Register 
Tel: 0800 408 5500
www.gassaferegister.co.uk
Domestic Appliance Service Association
69 The Maltings
Stanstead Abbotts
Hertfordshire
SG12 8HG
www.dasa.org.uk
Tomorrow's Engineers
EngineeringUK
Weston House
246 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7EX
Email: careers@engineeringuk.com
Tel: 020 3206 0400
www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk
OpportunitiesDesc
Opportunities
You could find work with appliance manufacturers, servicing contractors, local authorities, recycling projects, public utility companies and retailers.
Jobs are advertised in the press, in Jobcentre Plus offices and on the Directgov website (jobseekers page). You could also contact companies directly to ask about vacancies.
With experience, you could move into management, regional services coordination, technical sales or training. You could also set up your own business.
Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.
We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.
LMIData
Related industry information
Industry summary
The electrical and electronic servicing industry is part of the building services engineering sector, represented by SummitSkills Sector Skills Council, which also includes: plumbing; heating and ventilating; air conditioning and refrigeration; and electrotechnical. In total, the building services engineering sector employs over 600,000 people in over 60,000 businesses. Of these, 85% have between 1 and 5 employees, with most of the remainder employing between 6 and 250 workers. Very few have more than 250 employees. The sector has an annual turnover of around £17 billion in the UK. Building services engineering is continually adapting to meet technological challenges and plays a central role in environmental technology developments, particularly around renewable energy and micro‐generation.
The electrical and electronic servicing industry is involved in the installation, servicing and maintenance of:
- signal reception, which deals with aerial systems in residences, blocks of flats and individual private homes
- consumer electronics, such as TVs, audio systems and DVD players
- domestic electrical appliances, such as washing machines, microwaves and refrigerators
Key facts:
- Many Domestic Appliance Service Engineers become self-employed and run their own businesses.
- While some people work ‘on call’, many are employed by manufacturers and manufacturer approved service agents and high street retailers.
Jobs in the industry range from:
- TV Service Engineers/Technicians install and service TV and consumer electronics systems, including televisions, DVD players, HI‐FI systems and games consoles
- Domestic Appliance Service Engineers install and service a wide range of domestic appliances, including washing machines, dishwashers, cookers, fridges and freezers as well as smaller items such as vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens and irons
- Aerial Installers install and service signal reception equipment, such as TV aerials, satellite dishes and systems in domestic dwellings and in large buildings.
National and regional data
There are currently no national or regional figures available.
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