Trades Nobody Talks About: Less Obvious Paths That Pay Well

‍‌​‌​​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍# 15.16, The trades nobody talks about: less obvious paths that pay well

Everyone bangs on about plumbers, sparks and brickies. They're solid trades. But there's a whole layer of more niche work that pays well and is crying out for people who can do it properly.

This guide is about those "under the radar" trades, what they are, what they pay, and what it takes to get into them.

1. The quiet high-earners

These aren't fairy-tale numbers, they're pulled from UK job-market data and sector reports. But remember: you only see those figures if you're competent and not underpricing.

2. Fire stopping, dry lining, suspended ceilings, flooring

What they actually are

Fire stopping / passive fire protection Fitting fire-resistant materials around penetrations (pipes, ducts, cables), compartment lines, fire doors, soffits, etc. All about stopping fire and smoke spreading through buildings.

Dry lining / suspended ceilings / internal fit-out Metal stud, plasterboard, bulkheads, MF ceilings, grid ceilings, office and resi fit-outs. You're shaping the inside of buildings after the shell is up.

Flooring Can be anything from domestic LVT and carpet to heavy commercial vinyl, sports floors and specialist surfaces.

Pay and demand

Fire stopper / fire stopping operative

• Average salary advertised: around £44,000/year for "fire stopper" roles (most between £39k–£49k).
• Wider "fire stopping" roles average ~£50k/year, around £25/hour.

Dry lining / ceilings

• Not as neatly captured by ONS, but commonly paid on strong day rates or price work on commercial and resi blocks.
• The CLC Industry Skills Plan names dry lining and fire stopping as priority competence areas · meaning not enough people who truly know what they're doing.

Flooring

• Commercial and specialist flooring (hospitals, labs, gyms) pays better than domestic.
• Skills-shortage and workforce-outlook reports flag finishing trades, including flooring, as areas where older workers are retiring and not enough new blood is coming through.

Why these make sense after an apprenticeship

The work is less "Instagram cool" and more graft, but:

• There's a clear skills gap.
• The work doesn't stop at domestic boiler season · a lot is commercial and programme-driven.
• If you're reliable, you move fast from labourer/improver to "the one who knows what they're doing" and then to running a small gang.

3. Retrofit and energy efficiency: insulating and upgrading Britain

This is where a lot of the future work is.

Demand

CITB calls energy efficiency and retrofit "the big opportunity" for construction, with huge numbers of homes needing insulation, airtightness work, better windows, ventilation and low-carbon heating.

Skills-shortage reports warn that construction already has around 140,000 vacancies and will struggle to meet net-zero targets without more retrofit-capable people.

Routes and qualifications

Depends which bit you fancy:

Fabric and insulation

• NVQs/quals in insulation and building treatments.
• Work under PAS 2030/2035 frameworks and TrustMark if you're involved in funded schemes (ECO, SHDF, etc.).

Retrofit assessor/coordinator

• For more office/technical roles: Level 4–5 retrofit assessor/coordinator courses under PAS 2035.
• Good if you like surveys, paperwork and design more than swinging tools.

Low-carbon heating

• Come from a plumbing/heating background and add low-carbon training and MCS. See section 5 below.

Earning potential

It's not one fixed rate, but when you're working on funded retrofit projects:

• There's long-term volume of work.
• Qualified people (especially those who understand PAS/TrustMark) can command strong rates because there aren't enough of them.

This is a smart lane for someone willing to tolerate a bit more paperwork in return for steady demand over the next 10–20 years.

4. EV charge-point installation

What it is

Installing and commissioning EV charge points in homes, workplaces and public car parks. Mix of domestic and commercial, pulling together normal electrical skills with manufacturer-specific gear and smart systems.

Training path

You pretty much need to be an electrician first:

• Level 3 electrical qualification.
• 18th Edition (Wiring Regs).
• Then add an EV charge-point course · often City & Guilds 2919 or equivalent.
• For certain grants/schemes, you may need to be with a recognised body (NICEIC, NAPIT, etc.) and follow their EV schemes.

Earnings

• Newly qualified: about £31,960/year.
• Experienced employed installer: around £45,760/year.
• Sole trader: turnover about £56,050/year, estimated take-home ~£37,600 after roughly £7,014 of costs.

If you're a domestic spark already, adding EV install is an obvious way to bump your earning mix.

5. Heat pump installation (MCS-certified)

Heat pumps aren't a "maybe", they're baked into policy.

Demand and grants

Schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) and ECO4 fund thousands of heat-pump installs and are expected to run for years. To access most of this, the business needs to be MCS-certified and usually TrustMark-registered.

Requirements

• Solid background in plumbing and heating (NVQ Level 2/3, domestic heating/gas experience).
• MCS certification in heat pumps: your business has to meet MCS technical standards and quality-management requirements.
• You or key staff usually complete manufacturer or MCS-aligned heat-pump courses.

Earning potential

MCS certification:

• Lets you work on funded jobs, which boosts your conversion rate.
• Helps you price higher because the customer is getting a grant and expects specialist competence.

A competent MCS heat-pump installer can earn at least as well as a good boiler engineer, with strong medium-term demand given the net-zero targets.

6. Asbestos surveying and removal

What you actually do

Removal operative Work under a licensed contractor, removing asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) under tight controls. Heavy PPE, enclosures, air monitoring, method statements.

Surveyor / analyst Identifying ACMs in buildings, writing surveys, sometimes doing air tests and clearance.

Barriers to entry

Removal:

• You typically need to be employed by a company with an HSE asbestos licence.
• You undergo regular medicals and specific training under the Control of Asbestos Regulations.

Surveying:

• Training such as BOHS P402 (or equivalent) is common.
• Many clients want UKAS-accredited firms.

Earnings

• Asbestos removal operatives earn ~£32,500/year on average, with some up to £48,300/year.
• Surveyors/consultants often earn more due to the technical responsibility.

If you're okay with rules, PPE and paperwork, it's a niche with less competition and steady work, especially in refurbishment and demolition.

7. Heritage and conservation trades

This is one for people who love old buildings and detail.

What's involved

Stone masonry, carving, conservation joinery, lime plastering, lead work, traditional roofing, stained glass, and so on. You work on listed buildings, churches, historic houses, old town centres.

Demand

Heritage Crafts' mapping report shows:

• The heritage craft sector contributes billions in turnover.
• Demand is stable or growing in many crafts, but the workforce is ageing and too few younger craftspeople are coming through.

Pay

It varies:

• Some heritage roles pay similar to mainstream trades at first.
• High-end niches (stone carving, lead work, specialist timber) can pay very well once you're established and known, because there's almost no competition and clients can't just grab anyone.

This isn't the quickest way to big money, but if you want interesting work with a real shortage of skills, it's a serious option.

8. Skills shortages, why these routes are smart

You're not guessing here. The gaps are documented.

• The Construction Leadership Council's Industry Skills Plan highlights dry lining, fire stopping, fire detection, rainscreen cladding and domestic plumbing/heating as areas needing competence frameworks and more people.
• CITB's latest "Industry Picture" and Construction Workforce Outlook talk about demand for construction skills outstripping supply, with shortages across core trades and specialists driven by an ageing workforce and increased regulation.
• Skills-shortage reports warn that by 2035, over a third of current construction workers could retire, leaving big gaps in trades like bricklaying, roofing, plumbing and specialist installers.

If you pick a niche like fire stopping, EV/heat pumps, retrofit, asbestos or heritage and stick at it, you're putting yourself where there's less competition, more demand and more bargaining power.

What to do next

• Read: 15.17 · Specialising vs staying general: when to pick a lane
• Read: 15.18 · Upskilling after qualifying: what's worth it and what's a waste of money
• Read: 10.1 · What qualifications and cards do I actually need?
• Read: 7.1 · CSCS cards explained
• Read: 15.6 · The money reality: what you'll actually earn and spend in year one

Sources (UK)

• UK job-market data · advertised salaries for fire stopping, asbestos removal, EV installation roles.
• Checkatrade / Access Training · EV charger installer earnings breakdown (employed vs self-employed).
• CITB Construction Skills Network reports · skills shortages, workforce outlook, retrofit demand.
• Construction Leadership Council Industry Skills Plan · priority competence areas (dry lining, fire stopping, cladding, plumbing/heating).
• Heritage Crafts mapping report · sector turnover, workforce ageing, demand trends.
• MCS / TrustMark · heat pump certification requirements, funded scheme access.
• HSE · asbestos licensing and training requirements under the Control of Asbestos Regulations.

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