Electrician
Licensed trade installing and maintaining electrical wiring, fittings, switchboards and motors. Requires a state electrical licence on top of the apprenticeship Cert III.
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Electrician (General) (341111), the closest official match for electrician, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- Median weekly earnings (full-time)
- $2,204
- People employed
- 128,300
- Future demand
- Moderate
- Work full-time
- 86%
- Average full-time hours
- 45 a week
- Women
- 2%
- Median age
- 34
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 28.7% |
| VIC | 23.6% |
| QLD | 22.9% |
| WA | 13.4% |
| SA | 6.8% |
| TAS | 2.1% |
| ACT | 1.5% |
| NT | 1.1% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 0.6% |
| Bachelor degree | 2.7% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 5.4% |
| Certificate I-IV | 73% |
| Year 12 | 12.3% |
| Below Year 12 | 4.9% |
What an electrician actually does
Most days start on site between 6:30 and 7:30am. The morning is the heaviest physical period - pulling cable, running conduit, drilling and chasing walls, terminating switchboards. Lunch is on the truck or in the smoko shed. The afternoon often skews toward testing, certification paperwork (Certificates of Compliance for Electrical Work), and chasing up the next job's variation. Domestic work mixes new builds (rough-in then fit-off weeks later) with fault calls and small renovations. Commercial work runs in longer phases on bigger sites. Residential electricians usually knock off around 3-4pm; site electricians on commercial often go to 5-6pm. On-call duty for emergency work pays a premium but eats your weekends.
Skills you'll use
- Reading construction drawings and AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules
- Cable selection, sizing and pulling
- Switchboard wiring and termination
- Safe isolation procedures and test-and-tag
- Fault-finding with multimeters and clamp meters
- Writing Certificates of Compliance for Electrical Work
- Customer service and quoting
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 10 or above with maths and English (most employers prefer Year 12 with Maths Standard or above)
- 2Sign a 4-year apprenticeship with an employer or a Group Training Organisation (GTO)
- 3Complete the UEE30820 Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician through TAFE block-release or day-release
- 4Sit and pass the Capstone Assessment in the final year (governed by the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council)
- 5Apply to your state's licensing authority for an electrical licence (NSW Fair Trading, Energy Safe Victoria, Electrical Safety Office QLD and similar)
- 6Renew the licence every 1-3 years depending on state and complete CPD where required
Where you can work
- Residential builders on new estates
- Commercial fit-out contractors in CBDs
- Industrial maintenance teams in manufacturing plants
- Resources sector camps (WA Pilbara, central QLD, NT)
- Local council maintenance teams
- Utility companies in electricity distribution
- Self-employed sole trader or two-person firm
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Apprentice and tradesperson pay is set by the modern award or enterprise agreement that covers the job; check it with the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool.
- Apprentice4 yearsTypical roles: First-year apprentice electrician, Fourth-year apprentice electrician
- Tradesperson0-4 yearsTypical roles: Domestic electrician, Commercial electrician, Industrial electrician
- Leading hand or supervisor5-10 yearsTypical roles: Leading hand, Site supervisor, Service manager
- Subcontractor or business owner8+ yearsTypical roles: Sole-trader electrician, Electrical contracting business owner
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You're comfortable with maths to the level of Year 11 Standard
- You can work safely with high consequences (electrocution risk is real)
- You don't mind crawling through roof spaces in summer
- You enjoy a mix of routine wiring and one-off fault diagnosis
- You can deal with customers in their homes politely
This might not suit you if
- You can't commit to 4 years of low apprentice pay
- You panic under pressure - live work demands calm
- You have a back or knee condition that limits crawling and lifting
- You can't get to site reliably each morning at 6:30am
Entry requirements
- Year 10 or equivalent
- A signed apprenticeship training contract with a host employer.
State licensing
This trade requires a state licence on top of the apprenticeship qualification.
| State | Licensing authority |
|---|---|
| NSW | Building Commission NSW (NSW Fair Trading) |
| VIC | Energy Safe Victoria |
| QLD | Electrical Safety Office Queensland |
| SA | Consumer and Business Services SA |
| WA | Building and Energy WA (Electrical Licensing Board) |
| TAS | Consumer, Building and Occupational Services Tasmania (CBOS) |
| NT | Electrical Workers and Contractors Licensing Board NT |
| ACT | Access Canberra |