Meenan believes that electricians today are a "rare breed" with a "lesser percentage that consider themself as electricians rather than sparks".

He feels that the biggest challenge in the industry as tradesmen is that electricians don't know where they stand and what their abilities and skills are. 

"I've been on a journey for over 25 years just trying to understand where my own level of skills and knowledge is.

"One of the best things said to me by an older person was that there was a difference between an electrician and a spark," he says.

According to Meenan, a sparkie will do what he is told, while an electrician will think for himself.

Nagy believes that there are four stages of competence - unconscious incompetence (ignorance), conscious incompetence (awareness), conscious competence (learning), and unconscious competence (mastery).

Scotland's SELECT body is currently lobbying to pass legislation to protect the title of the electrician. If passed, it will offer a professional status to electricians.

Nagy asks whether this should also be done in England and the rest of the country. Meenan agrees, however, he does note that the industry doesn't control the entry of people into the trade.

"If the electrical industry were to be regulated, people would have to be escorted from the industry," he says.

He adds that many in the trade won't be electricians anymore if it is licensed. "If made law, there are a lot of people who wouldn't achieve that. Everybody deserves to go to work and earn for their family, but not when you risk electrocuting people and burning houses down," he says.

Meenan uses a term called SKATEL - skills, knowledge, ability, training, experience, and limitation. He says that it's very important to be aware of these traits in the trade.

"When I work with people, I want to know what they can't do rather than what they can. Because then I can help fill in the gaps and ensure that my team has got the right skill set," he asserts.

Nagy also addressed the stereotypes and perceptions other trades have of electricians.

The biggest stereotype being electricians are "loaded" and make more money than everyone else on site.

Meenan squashes that perception by saying that he spent most of his 20s working days and nights so he could afford a deposit for a house.

"I have worked on jobs where the money has been said to be excellent and all I have come out is with enough to get a deposit for a car.

"I'm in my 40s and I drive a Kia. Trust me the money is not great out there," he reiterates. "There is a huge problem with how we perceive electricians to be stinking rich. We're not. I am absolutely sick to death with this stereotype."

He points out that working a night shift at McDonald's pays more than being an electrician. The electrical trade is the lowest paid, he claims. "Tilers get paid more than us."

Nagy shares that other stereotypes include never cleaning up, being entitled and using other trade holes for fitting cables, and lastly electricians carrying themselves as scientists.

Listen to the whole show here.