Electrician
Installs, maintains and repairs electrical systems in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Works with wiring, circuit breakers, distribution boards, solar systems and increasingly smart home technology. A fundamental trade with severe shortage of skilled workers in Kenya.
- AI exposure
- 12 of 100, low exposure
- Hiring trend
- Stable
- Hiring rate
- 75%
The role
What the work is, what it pays, and what it costs you.
At a glance
- Work environment
- Workshops, construction sites or clients' premises; physical and ppe required.
- Adaptation level
- Low
A day in the role
Hands-on workshop or site work — measuring, cutting, fitting, installing and repairing, with quality checks and client handovers.
What it pays
Kenyan market, per month- Entry
- KES 25,000-40,000
- Mid
- KES 60,000-100,000
- Senior
- KES 120,000-250,000+
The trade offs
In its favour
- Stable, in-demand licensed trade — very AI-resilient.
- Solar and backup-power are booming.
Against it
- Physical and sometimes hazardous work.
- Informal-sector competition.
In practice
TVET diploma/certificate in electrical, then apprenticeship under a licensed electrician. Get EPRA wireman's licence to operate.
Artisan → electrician → contractor → electrical firm owner. Solar specialisation accelerates income.
Steady demand in construction, manufacturing and the growing solar/backup-power market.
Installing and repairing wiring, fault-finding, solar PV work, compliance checks and client liaison.
Exposure
How much of this a machine can already do, and how that was worked out.
Where this rating sits
1,516 rated careersRated above 5% of the 1,516 careers in the catalogue, which averages 43. Inside trades & vocational the mean is 11, across 66 careers.
What the rating is made of
Share of recorded tasks- Machine does it
- 8%Software can already complete this work end to end.
- Machine assists
- 18%A person still decides, but the drafting is done for them.
- Person does it
- 74%Judgement, relationships and accountability that do not transfer.
Named task by task
Already automated
- Generative design exploration and optioneering
- Automated clash detection and BOQ take-off
- Predictive maintenance from sensor data
- Computer-vision site progress and safety monitoring
- Auto-drafted calculations and compliance reports
- Scheduling optimisation and risk simulation
Still human
- Site inspection and physical construction supervision
- Design judgement and code-compliance decisions
- Hands-on fabrication, welding and installation
- Troubleshooting equipment on the bench
- Stakeholder and contractor negotiation
- Safety accountability and quality sign-off
The six things it was scored on
0 to 100 each- Physical presencelowers exposure
- 92
- Regulatory stakeslowers exposure
- 55
- Routine intensityraises exposure
- 50
- People and inventionlowers exposure
- 30
- Rule bound thinkingraises exposure
- 25
- Digital surfaceraises exposure
- 18
Work that has to happen in a place, with hands.
Where a named person has to carry the liability.
How much of it repeats in the same shape each time.
Work that needs trust, persuasion or an original idea.
Decisions that follow a procedure rather than a judgement.
How much of the work already happens inside software.
Task counts
- Tasks recorded
- 0
- Automatable now
- 0
- Still human
- 0
- Displacing
- Few direct tasks — work is physical and site-specific
- Augmenting
- Diagnostic apps and AR repair guides,Digital job-scheduling tools
- Creating
- Solar and EV electrical roles,Smart-home installation
Sources
Behind the rating- Frey & Osborne (2013), 'The Future of Employment', Oxford Martin
- McKinsey Global Institute, 'The Future of Work' (2017/2023)
- OpenAI/UPenn, 'GPTs are GPTs' (2023), occupational LLM exposure
- WEF, 'Future of Jobs Report' (2023)
Getting in
The routes into the role and what each one asks for.
What to study
8 courses- Certificate in Metal Processing TechnologyKsh 42,600a year
- Artisan in Building TechnologyKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in Carpentry and JoineryKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in Front Office OperationsKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in HorticultureKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in Land SurveyingKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in MasonryKsh 67,189a year
- Artisan in Refrigeration and Air ConditioningKsh 67,189a year
How people get in
TVET Diploma/Certificate
1-3 yearsMedium cost
Electrical installation diploma or certificate at a TVET institution
Artisan + Apprenticeship
2-4 yearsLow cost
Artisan certificate plus on-the-job apprenticeship under a licensed electrician
Licensing
ongoingLow cost
EPRA electrical wireman/contractor licence
Certifications
EPRA Wireman's Licence
EPRAKsh 5,0002 monthsRequired
NITA Trade Test III/II/I
NITAKsh 5,0001 months
Tools of the trade
Conduit benders
installationRequiredFree
Multimeter
testingRequiredFree
Solar PV kit
solarNice to haveFree
Hand tools (pliers, screwdrivers)
hand-toolsRequiredFree
Who hires
Common misconceptions
Electricians can't run a business.
Many run successful electrical contracting firms.
It's a dead-end job.
Licensed electricians progress to contracting, supervision and solar/EV specialisms.
What happens next
How the role changes from here, and where it leads.
How the role changes
2024-2030This is a comparatively AI-resilient role. Focus on depth and relationships.
- 2024already here
Minimal direct displacement; AI assists documentation and research.
- 2027projected
Support tools mature; core human work remains essential.
- 2030projected
Demand stays strong; AI handles admin, humans handle the work.
The near term
Minimal AI disruption through 2028 — core human work stays essential; AI mainly handles documentation and admin.
- AI mainly automates documentation and admin
- Core hands-on/empathic work unchanged
- Productivity gains without displacement
- Demand stable to growing with sector trends
- Tools like ChatGPT / Claude boost efficiency
- What to do
- Here, focus on depth and relationships. Tools like ChatGPT / Claude and Microsoft Copilot will boost your productivity, while deepening Solar PV installation and Smart-home systems keeps you indispensable. The main near-term action is productivity, not defence — this role is comparatively AI-resilient.
Where pay is heading
2024 to 2030Monthly pay in Kenyan shillings, rounded to the nearest thousand. These are projections, not observations.
Growth outlook
- Net demand change
- 16
- Over
- 2024-2030
- Drivers
- Construction and urbanisation,Solar and backup-power installations
- Headwinds
- Informal-sector competition
Supply and demand
- Demand
- 75
- Supply pressure
- 10
- Balance
- High demand
What to learn
- Solar PV installation
- Smart-home systems
- Digital diagnostic tools
Tools worth knowing
ChatGPT / Claude
Priority: Essential
Drafting, research and analysis
Microsoft Copilot
Priority: Recommended
Office productivity and writing
Power BI / Excel Copilot
Priority: Recommended
Data analysis and reporting
Related careers
Kenyan market notes
PayScale: electrician average KES 250,252/year in Kenya (2026). Glassdoor: average KES 43,167/year, top earners KES 277,250. Sensei College: entry KES 25,000-40,000, experienced KES 60,000-100,000, senior KES 120,000+ (contractor). EPRA licenses electricians — Electrical Installation Grade Test (EIT) required. Self-employed electrical contractors earn KES 120,000+ monthly, especially with solar installation. Construction labor costs: electrician KES 1,500-2,500/day in Nairobi (highest-paid skilled trade). Severe shortage of skilled construction workers. TVET electrical installation courses among most marketable in 2026. Gulf countries and East African infrastructure projects offer additional opportunities. Solar installation is a growing high-demand specialisation.
Further reading
This role is rated 12 out of 100 today. Save it and the app keeps that number, then tells you by how much it has moved when the record is next reviewed.