How to get a Job as an Electrician in the Mining sector in Australia

All electrical work in Australia requires a valid Electrical licence for that state. To work in the mines as an electrician, you must possess an Unrestricted Electrical Licence duly recognized by the national government. To get this licence, you need to complete a four-year apprenticeship which will be supervised by an experienced electrician. You need to enrol into an Electrotechnology course to learn the theory while the practical knowledge and skills can be achieved through hands-on experience with an Electrician. 

You will need to undergo structured training under UEE30820 Certificate III in Electrotechnology to get a good understanding of foundational knowledge that every electrician should have.

After you have completed your 4-year apprenticeship as an Electrician you will need to obtain further qualification in Hazardous areas and Instrumentation field and in many cases HV switching as well. Gone are the days when there was big crew of Electricians with specific demarcation of jobs. It was inefficient and not economical for the Employer to have so many electricians sitting around and waiting for a specific breakdown. Most Electricians these days have to be multiskilled. If a person has done his apprenticeship in a specific mine for four years, he is already skilled in maintaining that mine; however, if he needs to change jobs, he must demonstrate his ability to look after hazardous areas, instrumentation, and HV switching. If you have the experience you can get your skills recognised by a reputable RTO. This procedure costs money and is time consuming but way better than going to school for another 4 years. 

Although it seems frivolous to get these qualifications when you already have the experience. Most employers will not entertain your application until you have a formal certificate. There 2 main reasons to get these qualifications. First the employer gets hundreds of applications for the job and these Certificates help them segregate the candidates. Usually the person shortlisting the candidates is not a technical person rather a HR person or commonly called the ‘gatekeeper’. The gatekeeper needs to see these qualifications so they can short list you. Second reason is that Employers are bound by company policies and insurance policies. It forces them to employ trained personnel. The easiest way to achieve that is to hire professionals rather than training them onsite. This is one of the major reasons for the emergence of the private RTOs. The public RTO like the TAFE could not keep up with the demand of required trades people whereas private RTOs that could customise the training to suit the employer needs did. The private RTOs today hold majority share in the Vocational education sector due to availability of training all year round. Check out my other article on the difference between Private RTO and Public RTO – the good bad and ugly for further information. 

Now that you have completed your apprenticeship, first on your list should be EEHA qualification. The mining industry is set in a hazardous environment, which means that you would require the nationally recognised UEE42620 Certificate IV in Hazardous Areas Electrical. Having this qualification lets employers know that you understand the risks involved in the mines and the explosive nature thereof. You also need vast knowledge in instrumentation automation and process control as an electrician in the mines.

Although not all Electricians require this qualification or knowledge to work in this industry. Lately, it has become the norm for many employers to ask for it. Employers will expect you to have the qualifications UEE40420 Certificate IV in Electrical Instrumentation and/or UEE3120 Certificate III in Instrumentation and Control.

A certain level of up skilling helps you become a preferable candidate in the mining industry. To better your chances as a mining electrician you could enrol at Ausinet, where gap training is provided to achieve these qualifications.