street lighting electrician
Key facts
Ensure safe and reliable illumination in your community as a street lighting electrician. This role combines electrical expertise with outdoor work, contributing to public safety and visibility.
Street lighting electricians are vital for maintaining the functionality and safety of public lighting systems. Your daily work involves inspecting, testing, repairing, and replacing components of street lights, ensuring they operate efficiently and meet safety standards. This often includes working outdoors in various weather conditions and following strict electrical safety protocols. As an associate professional, you'll be expected to apply established procedures and seek guidance when needed, while also developing your skills and knowledge.
- • Diagnose and repair faults in street lighting circuits and fixtures.
- • Install new street lighting systems and upgrade existing ones.
- • Perform routine maintenance and testing to ensure optimal performance and longevity.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Electrical and electronic trades workers — 42 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia and 10 more.
Longest-running shortage: Belgium, 3 years.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
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Could street lighting electrician fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
Do you enjoy tasks that require Independence?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Support?
Do you enjoy tasks that require Attention to Detail?
Future Outlook for street lighting electrician
The outlook for street lighting electrician reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could street lighting electrician change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could street lighting electrician change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- work ergonomically
- wear appropriate protective gear
- comply with electrical safety regulations
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- install power lines
- prevent technical problems with lighting equipment
- repair underground power cables
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Construction
A typical day as a street lighting electrician
09 09:00 · Morning inspect underground power cables
10 10:30 · Mid-morning comply with electrical safety regulations
12 12:00 · Midday prevent technical problems with lighting equipment
14 14:00 · Afternoon install power lines
15 15:30 · Late afternoon repair underground power cables
17 17:00 · Wrap-up wear appropriate protective gear
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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artificial lighting systems
Types of artificial lighting and their power consumption. HF fluorescent lighting, LED lighting, natural daylight and programmed control systems allow an efficient use of energy.
- electric current
- electrical discharge
- electrical power safety regulations
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work ergonomically
Apply ergonomy principles in the organisation of the workplace while manually handling equipment and materials.
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wear appropriate protective gear
Wear relevant and necessary protective gear, such as protective goggles or other eye protection, hard hats, safety gloves.
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comply with electrical safety regulations
Comply with safety measures, standards and regulations for working with electrical equipment and the installation, operation and maintenance of electrical wiring and installations.
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install power lines
Install cables and networks for electricity distribution on the street, in the fields and in buildings, and put them into operation.
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repair underground power cables
Identify damage and perform the required repairs, as well as perform routine maintenance, to underground power cables used in the transmission and distribution of electrical energy.
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prevent technical problems with lighting equipment
Anticipate possible technical problems with lighting equipment.
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inspect underground power cables
Inspect the underground power cables during installation or repair activities in order to identify faults and assess the extent of damage or need for repairs, and to ensure they are correctly installed and maintained.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
See whether this role fits your Career DNA
Take the free Career DNA assessment to see how street lighting electrician aligns with your interests, work style, and future path. In less than 10 minutes, you will get a personalized fit signal and a roadmap for what to do next.
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Where does street lighting electrician fit?
Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of training is needed to become a street lighting electrician?
- Typically, a combination of vocational training, an apprenticeship program, and relevant electrical certifications are required. Many employers prefer candidates with a formal qualification in electrical work.
- Are street lighting electricians typically employed or self-employed?
- This occupation is mostly employee-based, with many street lighting electricians working for local governments, utility companies, or electrical contractors. However, it is also commonly a self-employed business, particularly for smaller maintenance and repair services.
- What safety precautions are most important in this role?
- Working with electricity presents inherent risks. Strict adherence to safety protocols, including lockout/tagout procedures, proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and awareness of underground utilities, is paramount.
- Street Lighting Electrician — is there a shortage in Europe?
- Yes. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a shortage was reported in 14 of the 17 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus and 10 more. Belgium has reported one for 3 consecutive years. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Street Lighting Electrician — what does it pay in the United States?
- $62,350 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $37,440 to $101,310. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.