If you’re considering taking the plunge and retraining for a new career, you need some reassurance that your investment now in time and money on the new skills will pay off in the long run, providing you with that all-important job stability and financial security.
If construction trades are on your radar, the big question is, what are the highest-paying trades in the UK?
It’s a tricky question to answer; there are so many variables. A plumber in a small town might not see the same earning potential as one in London. Geographical location, experience, and employment status all have an impact on the money you could earn and what’s ending up in your pocket.
But, there are a few things that are clear: construction trades offer several pathways from training to working; they see ongoing demand; and they’re not going to be replaced by AI any time soon!
Let’s look at the recent data to see how the earnings in construction trades stack up.
Employee salaries in construction trades
When comparing trade salaries in the UK, in the most recent ONS ASHE (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings from the Office of National Statistics) data, electricians and electrical fitters have the highest median annual earnings. Plumbing, heating and ventilation installers earn less than electricians according to this data (which covers plumbers and gas engineers), and tilers rank third.
Some specialist and supervisory construction roles can command higher salaries, but they often involve additional training, experience or progression beyond a core trade.
Best-paid trades in the UK: ONS employee salaries
| Rank | Trade / ONS occupation | Median annual earnings |
| 1 | Electricians and electrical fitters | £40,717 |
| 2 | Plumbers, heating and ventilating installers and repairers | £39,179 |
| 3 | Floorers and wall tilers | £35,850 |
| 4 | Carpenters and joiners | £35,579 |
| 5 | Plasterers | £34,877 |
| 6 | Bricklayers | £33,011 |
| 7 | Painters and decorators | £32,421 |
Does that mean that electricians are the highest paid trade in the UK? While it might give us a good indication of how the earnings stack up by trade if someone is employed, what happens when they are self-employed or running a business?
Self-employed earnings in construction trades
Working out what a self-employed tradesman could be earning in the UK is also not straightforward. For a start, there are different ways to be self-employed. You can be a sole trader, you can run your own business, set up a limited company, or you might be a self-employed subcontractor under the Construction Industry Scheme. And in the same way that location affects PAYE earnings, it can also affect what you can charge as a day rate.
According to the tradesperson platform Checkatrade, as a general guide, day rates in the UK are charged between £120–£500. That’s based on what customers might pay. That’s quite a wide bracket, but it covers all trades and includes labourers.
If we look at the skilled trades, electricians’ day rates are up to £500; a plumber could charge up to £480. And on top of that, rates can be higher for specialist skills like gas.
If you calculate turnover based on the day rates, an electrician could be turning over £120k in a year, a plumber up to £115k, but this is based on a 5-day billable working week and 4 weeks’ holiday, which might not be sustainable.
Another key consideration is that turnover doesn’t equate to earnings. You’ll have running costs and non-billable time that you need to cover. A van to run, tools, insurance, materials, registrations, quotes, admin, and marketing. We’re not comparing apples with apples when we compare typical day rates to employee earnings.
What are the highest paying skilled trades in the UK?
Both the ONS data and Checkatrade’s day rates rank electricians in the number one spot. Yet according to the National Careers Service, the top four highest-earning trades are very closely ranked, but plumbers were just placed highest, with electricians, gas installation engineers and bricklayers all joint second.
National Careers Service: potential experienced salary estimates
Experienced plumber salary in the UK is £46,000
Experienced electrician salary in the UK is £45,000
Experienced gas engineer salary in the UK is £45,000
Experienced bricklayer salary in the UK is £45,000
Construction trades: salaries and trades with highest earning potential comparison
| Trade | Current salary earnings (ONS median) | Experienced earning potential (National Careers Service) | Potential self-employed day rate (Checkatrade) | Suitable for career changers? |
| Electrician | £40,717 a year | Up to £45,000 a year | £300–£500 | ✓ |
| Plumber and heating engineer | £39,179 a year | Up to £46,000 a year | £320–£480 | ✓ |
| Floorer and wall tiler | £35,850 a year | Up to £38,000 a year | £250–£350 | ✓ |
| Carpenter and joiner | £35,579 a year | Up to £40,000 a year | £240-£450 | ✓ |
| Plasterer | £34,877 a year | Up to £38,000 a year | Around £300 | ✓ |
| Bricklayer | £33,011 a year | Up to £45,000 a year | £250–£350 | ✓ |
| Painter and decorator | £32,421 a year | Up to £32,000 a year | £250–£350 | ✓ |
These figures in our table above are an indication and should not be treated as directly equivalent: ONS reports employee salaries, the National Careers Service provides salary estimates, and Checkatrade gives typical customer-facing day rates. While all seven trades offer potential routes for adults retraining from another career, retraining does not guarantee an immediate increase in earnings, as people may need to invest in training and build experience first.
We often hear that you can make £50k a year working in the trades, so why don’t these figures reflect that? It’s important to note that the ONS data is the median earnings for employees in those roles, but even in employed roles, there will be people earning higher salaries. A more in-depth look at the original dataset shows the highest-earning 25% of electricians does tip over the £50k mark, and the top 10% earn over £60k.
What affects a tradesperson’s earning potential?
Typical salaries are a useful indication of earning potential and from the table above there are some differences among the trades. The day rate guidance, on the other hand, might illustrate that self-employment can be a way to increase earning potential, which in turn might be influenced by location, experience, qualifications and service offering.
A self-employed plumber who is also qualified in gas and holds Gas Safe registration has increased the scope of work they can take on and may be able to charge more.
An electrician working in London will likely see a higher earning potential than in other areas of the UK.
A plumber who can also do tiling and plastering can offer a fuller service and could therefore branch into bathroom fitting.
Offering emergency call-outs in plumbing, gas or electrical can command a premium fee.
Holding an NVQ Level 2 could unlock the potential for site work.
Just because one factor doesn’t increase the number on your invoice, it might mean that you attract more work because of it.
Your reputation, from customer reviews, online presence and professional registrations, could help you build a steady pipeline of work.
Which is the best trade to get into in the UK for a career change?
If you’re considering a career change to construction, this is the million-dollar question. The answer might not be what you think. If it’s earning potential you’re after, then learning a skilled trade is likely to stand you in good stead, but how you work might make all the difference to how much money you actually bring home.
Money isn’t everything though; there are often other motivators. It could be to readdress a work-life balance, to have your own business, to learn something new or because it’s what you wanted to do in the first place, but didn’t, or it might be the desire to do practical work rather than sitting in front of a computer all day.
Whatever the motivation, there’s some weighing up that’s likely to be going on before making the leap or even that first small step. How do I get started? What course do I do? How do I get experience? What qualifications do I need? Is it worth the investment in time and money? Is there work available when I finish training?
Taking that first step: construction training at Able Skills
Changing careers means finding an efficient way into the construction industry. And while there are upfront costs, choosing a construction training provider means you can build skills and gain qualifications by doing courses in a matter of weeks and months, often around existing work or other commitments. This minimises the time between starting training and being ready to start finding work. It’s an efficient way to retrain for a trade in the UK.
The route and timescale will vary depending on the trade, depending on where you’re starting from and also what you’re looking to do at the end.
To find out more, contact our friendly team on 01322 280 202 or hello@ableskills.co.uk, or feel free to visit us at our Dartford training centre.
FAQs
How much do electricians earn in the UK?
In the UK, based on our collected data above, the median annual salary for an electrician is £40,717 a year, up to £45,000 a year with experience, and charge day rates between £300–£500.
How much do plumbers earn in the UK?
In the UK, based on our collected data above, the median annual salary for a plumber and heating engineer is £39,179 a year, up to £46,000 a year with experience, and they charge day rates between £320–£480.
How much do gas engineers earn in the UK?
In the UK, based on our collected data above, we don’t have specific data for gas engineers. However, the median annual salary for a plumber and heating engineer is £39,179 a year, up to £46,000 a year with experience, and they charge day rates between £320–£480, though this rate may be higher as gas is a more specialist area.
What’s the best trade to learn in the UK?
This will depend on who you ask! But if by ‘best trade’ you mean which has the highest earning potential, then our investigations indicate that electricians, plumbing and heating engineers and bricklayers are among the skilled trade careers in the UK that have the highest earning potential.
What’s the most profitable trade in the UK?
Profitability is something that’s influenced by many factors, but generally speaking, a trade that requires very specialist or highly in-demand skills may be able to command the highest rates of pay. It will entirely depend on the business’s running costs and the ability to accurately price according to project requirements.
Sources:
- ONS salary figures: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Table 14.7a, annual gross pay for full-time employees in the UK, April 2026 provisional data. These figures represent employee pay, not self-employed earnings.
- Experienced earning potential: National Careers Service job profiles for each trade. These are indicative salary estimates, not guaranteed earnings.
- Self-employed day rates: Checkatrade's published UK tradesperson cost guide, updated October 2026. Rates vary according to location, experience, qualifications and type of work. A day rate is not take-home pay or annual profit.