How to become a certified electrician in New Zealand

If you are thinking of becoming a certified electrician in New Zealand, now is a great time to consider it.

New Zealand has gone through a boom in construction all over the country over the last three years and is predicted to grow at a similar rate for the coming years, thanks to the increase in tourism and migration.

Strong construction demand in Auckland and other parts of New Zealand has left the sector with a shortage in labour, which means that you are sure to land a job once you have become a certified electrician.

Average Pay

According to PayScale, an electrician gets paid an average of NZ$27.98, up to NZ$34.71.

Industrial electricians get paid a lot more at an average of NZ$30.81 per hour and gets paid overtime somewhere between $NZ25.45 – NZ$52.37.

If you get a job in Auckland, you could get paid as high as NZ$83,558 annually.

If you have the right skills for the job, in some cases you could paid as high as NZ$100,000 a year and also get a company car and a phone included as part of the package.

So, what does an electrician do?

Before you decide to jump into a career as an electrician, it is important to understand exactly what you’d be doing.

As an electrician, you will have to perform a multitude of tasks relating to electrical controls, equipment, and wiring in an industrial plant or worksite if you are an industrial electrician. You will have to plan, execute, test, troubleshoot, and repair.

As you grow in the job, you will also be in charge of reading and interpreting blueprints and specifications and maintain electrical code specifications as per the law.

Being a good electrician requires attention to detail and sensible judgement on your end.

So, how do you become an electrician?

If you want a career in electrical work, you first need to choose if you want to become an electrician, a line mechanic or an electrician engineer because each of these require a different level of skill and certifications.

If you are thinking of becoming an electrical worker, you can do so within 2 years and to become an electrician or an electrical engineer, it can take up to 4 years.

To become an electrician, you need to complete an apprenticeship and gain a national certificate in electrical engineering or a national certificate in electricity supply at level 4.

You also need to be registered with The Electrical Workers Registration Board and have a current practising license, which means you will have to complete and pass exams for the electrical class of registration.

To start with, you can enrol in a competency course with a training provider like Site Safe New Zealand, The Electrical Training Company, Training Corp. Here is a list of all other training providers in New Zealand: competency-training-providers-for-electrical-certifications

Once you have completed training, you will have apply to write your examinations and can move forward from there.

Once you become an electrician, you will have to complete a competency programme every 2 years to refresh your knowledge and get your license renewed.

Getting to Work

There are plenty of reputed electricals companies out there and you could be working for one of them very soon. Here is a list of some well-known electrical companies in New Zealand

Skilled Electrical – Christchurch

Leading Edge Electrical – Hamilton

Jenco Electrical – Auckland