About electrical trades

Information for applicants

Applicants seeking an assessment in licensed electrical trades (eg General Electrician) will be assessed to determine if they meet the technical requirements for the range of duties required for the occupation/s and if successful will be issued an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR).

When you arrive in Australia you will need to apply to the relevant state/territory licensing regulator for a provisional electrical licence. A provisional licence allows you to work under the supervision of a qualified tradesperson. You must present your OTSR to the licensing regulator when you apply for the provisional licence.

Contact details of licensing authorities for all states/territories may be found at: http://www.licencerecognition.gov.au/authorities.aspx

Even though your skills assessment will confirm your technical skills, you will naturally not be familiar with specific Australian knowledge such as Australian wiring rules, occupational health and safety regulations, codes of practice and other Australian standards. Gap training has been developed to help migrants meet the Australian specific knowledge gap.

The gap training will consist of

  • gaining essential knowledge and skills from a Registered Training Organisation (RTO)
  • completing up to 12 months work experience under appropriate supervision; and
  • passing a compliance assessment related to safety and compliance testing to Australian standards

More information on the gap training is available at the ElectroComms and Energy Utilities Industry Skills Council website: http://www.ee-oz.com.au/content/view/82/56/.

Once you have successfully completed the gap training and been issued with a Statement of Attainment, VETASSESS will then review the gap training against the competencies and issue you with the required Certificate III qualification. You can present this qualification to the relevant licensing regulator to be issued a full electrical licence.

VETASSESS will charge an administrative fee of $120 for the finalisation of the service and issuing the qualification.

Click here to download a copy of the document

Gap training – Update

A new accredited course for electrical-related trade occupations came into effect from mid-2010. This course covers the minimum Australian context gap for licensed occupations.

When an applicant has completed this course VETASSESS will issue the full AQF qualification to applicants who were in receipt of an Offshore Technical Skills Record (OTSR). Applicants will need to present their Statement of Attainment demonstrating completion of the minimum Australian context gap accredited course to VETASSESS.

VETASSESS will charge an administrative fee of $120 for the finalisation of the service and issuing the qualification.