Apprentice Electrician

The block and backyard blitz made sparkies look like blokes installing a downlight in five minutes. The reality is closer to a 19-year-old in steel-capped boots, pulling cable through the wall cavities of a half-built house, terminating the switchboard that runs the whole place. The Australian Certificate III in Electrotechnology. Electrician runs four years. About one day a week is spent at TAFE, learning to read circuit diagrams, calculate cable sizing, and test residual current devices. The other four days are on site, learning the craft, pulling cable through wall cavities and ceiling spaces, installing power points and light fittings, connecting heating and cooking appliances, fault finding on faulty circuits under supervision, testing the install before the power goes on.