The data shows the areas of the UK where salaries are highest and highlights Scotland and Wales as the places with the lowest average salary. However, it also shows that there is less variation nationally between upper and lower salary limits, with most areas having a similar range.

The survey also breaks down salaries by sector, looking at trends in air conditioning, ventilation and commercial heating, renewables and building services. It focusses on service engineers who are employed, rather than those who are self-employed. Much larger variations in salary would be expected if self-employed data was included.

Commenting on the 2023 survey, Jack Liddle of Thornhvac said: “Our experience of the job market for service engineers over the past 12 months has shown it to be buoyant across all sectors in the HVAC and building services market, with excellent opportunities for training and career development.

“As we would have expected, the survey highlights London and the South East as the region with the highest average salary. Yorkshire and the Humber has the highest lower salary threshold at £38,000, noticeably higher than the £30,000 starting point recorded in the Midlands, North West and Scotland.

“With the exception of Scotland, average salaries lie within a range of £42,400 and £46,800, whether this is calculated regionally or by sector. One possible reason for this relatively narrow average salary band could be that many national firms standardise their salaries for service engineer roles, regardless of where the engineer will ultimately be based or which area of the HVAC industry they will be operating in.

“Overall, the data backs up our own observations, with service engineers in consistently high demand and good availability of job vacancies nationally.

“Of course, this is not the full picture and looks only at basic salary. Many service engineers can earn extra money through overtime and incentive schemes.”