G'day all members,
I often read great posts from all type of people on here and have used alot of useful tips in my home renovation.
I currently have 3 houses fully renovated and rented out that I have completed most if not all of the work (under supervision of qualified tradespeople). I absolutely love property renovation/improvements. I currently work as a register property valuer but being a boy from a country farm and hard working heritage, I am considering changing to a qualifed trade.
I am 26 years old and have all my own tools including most electrical equipment. I have had experience in wiring combos, lights, fault finding, installing airconditiong and running powerpoints. I have have a bachelor degree, Cert IV in training and assessement, Diploma of Organisational health and saftey. Sorry for the background but wanted to give you a idea where I'm at.
I wanted to ask a couple of questions regarding starting a mature age apprenticeship? I understand that apprenticeships are about sarafices and hard work but does anyone have an Idea of the starting salary of an apprenticeship?
Can some of the time that I have worked with electricians wiring and installing and (having it checked) count off my apprenticeship ?
Is there a possibility if I am competent after 3 years for example can I get signed off ?
I would like to know if there are any owner of electrical companys on here seeking any mature age apprentices with their head screwed on that can work hard?
Any help would be appreciated.
Regards
Will
Mature age Apprenticeship - Electrical - questions - advice?
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Are you willing to move anywhere in Australia?
If not it might help if you say where you are or where you want to work.
If not it might help if you say where you are or where you want to work.
My hubby is a mature aged electrical apprentice - very similar circumstances to you. Generally small electrical contractors will only be able to pay minimum apprenticeship wages which are not enough for an adult to live off.
We could only afford for him to do an apprenticeship through a large electrical supply authority. All of the ones I am aware of offer mature age apprentices at sensible adult wages. They are competitive to get in to. My hubby wasn't accepted in the first year he applied but was offered a job as a "tradesmans assistant" instead, and was then successful in getting an apprenticeship in electrical in the second year. Others he knows have been trades assistants for two-three years before giving up or being offered an apprenticeship, or they were offered linesman or cable-jointing apprenticeships that only qualify them for specialist large scale kind of work rather than being a "normal" electrician.
Adult apprenticeship wage plus overtime falls in the range $55k-75k and I think qualification is common in just over 3 years- if you can tick all of the experience boxes you can sit the exam.
We could only afford for him to do an apprenticeship through a large electrical supply authority. All of the ones I am aware of offer mature age apprentices at sensible adult wages. They are competitive to get in to. My hubby wasn't accepted in the first year he applied but was offered a job as a "tradesmans assistant" instead, and was then successful in getting an apprenticeship in electrical in the second year. Others he knows have been trades assistants for two-three years before giving up or being offered an apprenticeship, or they were offered linesman or cable-jointing apprenticeships that only qualify them for specialist large scale kind of work rather than being a "normal" electrician.
Adult apprenticeship wage plus overtime falls in the range $55k-75k and I think qualification is common in just over 3 years- if you can tick all of the experience boxes you can sit the exam.
Are you willing to move anywhere in Australia?
If not it might help if you say where you are or where you want to work.
If not it might help if you say where you are or where you want to work.
G'day Mate,
Thanks for the advice.
I am currently based in Qld but would consider a move around the country. I would prefer to stay close to my investments though.
My hubby is a mature aged electrical apprentice - very similar circumstances to you. Generally small electrical contractors will only be able to pay minimum apprenticeship wages which are not enough for an adult to live off.
We could only afford for him to do an apprenticeship through a large electrical supply authority. All of the ones I am aware of offer mature age apprentices at sensible adult wages. They are competitive to get in to. My hubby wasn't accepted in the first year he applied but was offered a job as a "tradesmans assistant" instead, and was then successful in getting an apprenticeship in electrical in the second year. Others he knows have been trades assistants for two-three years before giving up or being offered an apprenticeship, or they were offered linesman or cable-jointing apprenticeships that only qualify them for specialist large scale kind of work rather than being a "normal" electrician.
Adult apprenticeship wage plus overtime falls in the range $55k-75k and I think qualification is common in just over 3 years- if you can tick all of the experience boxes you can sit the exam.
We could only afford for him to do an apprenticeship through a large electrical supply authority. All of the ones I am aware of offer mature age apprentices at sensible adult wages. They are competitive to get in to. My hubby wasn't accepted in the first year he applied but was offered a job as a "tradesmans assistant" instead, and was then successful in getting an apprenticeship in electrical in the second year. Others he knows have been trades assistants for two-three years before giving up or being offered an apprenticeship, or they were offered linesman or cable-jointing apprenticeships that only qualify them for specialist large scale kind of work rather than being a "normal" electrician.
Adult apprenticeship wage plus overtime falls in the range $55k-75k and I think qualification is common in just over 3 years- if you can tick all of the experience boxes you can sit the exam.
Thanks for the advice Ribbon - It is much appreciated. It seems that they are quite popular apprenticeships.
I agree with Ribbon mature age apprenticeship wages are very low and most would struggle to live off them however if you can manage for the 3-4 years it takes to get qualified it is well worth it as your wages will rise dramatically once qualified. My hubby is a sparky by Trade and while he no longer works on the tools he does work in the electrical field and it will open up alot of oppurtunities into project mananement, maintenance planning etc as well.
Over here in WA we are so short of tradies it's just crazy. Just a suggestion is to try and do electrical with instrumentation and plc (computer side of it), it's the way of the future and will mean you will be more attractive to employers especially in the commercial, mining and industrial sectors. Just to let you know at the NECA in WA awards last year (industry body awards for Electrical) the top two apprentices in the state were both mature age.
Goodluck
Over here in WA we are so short of tradies it's just crazy. Just a suggestion is to try and do electrical with instrumentation and plc (computer side of it), it's the way of the future and will mean you will be more attractive to employers especially in the commercial, mining and industrial sectors. Just to let you know at the NECA in WA awards last year (industry body awards for Electrical) the top two apprentices in the state were both mature age.
Goodluck
I agree with Ribbon mature age apprenticeship wages are very low and most would struggle to live off them however if you can manage for the 3-4 years it takes to get qualified it is well worth it as your wages will rise dramatically once qualified. My hubby is a sparky by Trade and while he no longer works on the tools he does work in the electrical field and it will open up alot of oppurtunities into project mananement, maintenance planning etc as well.
Over here in WA we are so short of tradies it's just crazy. Just a suggestion is to try and do electrical with instrumentation and plc (computer side of it), it's the way of the future and will mean you will be more attractive to employers especially in the commercial, mining and industrial sectors. Just to let you know at the NECA in WA awards last year (industry body awards for Electrical) the top two apprentices in the state were both mature age.
Goodluck
Over here in WA we are so short of tradies it's just crazy. Just a suggestion is to try and do electrical with instrumentation and plc (computer side of it), it's the way of the future and will mean you will be more attractive to employers especially in the commercial, mining and industrial sectors. Just to let you know at the NECA in WA awards last year (industry body awards for Electrical) the top two apprentices in the state were both mature age.
Goodluck
Thanks so much for the valuable advice Charnley. Its so great to get advice from people and families in the industry.
Wow, Ribbon, $55k?! My hubby is a mature age electrical apprentice (26 years old) and he is employed by Electrical Group Training in WA. He barely makes $28k a year. He's in his 2nd year and is about to start working up north on a 2/1 roster, only because it's an extra $6 an hour. I think apprentices are underpaid, and it does make me a little annoyed that employers are offered so many bonuses for employing an apprentice but there's a shortage of incentives offered for the apprentice to help them afford to do it.
Also, Will, it is possible to finished the apprenticeship early if all stages of your course and training have been signed off. My partner will finish in 3 years instead of 4 for this reason.
I'm a first year electrical apprentice here in Perth. I'm 30 and my base wage is mid sixty, not including overtime or super. I'm in the commercial side of things. Not house bashing which suits me. I started as a trades assistant and kept my wage when I moved onto apprentice . There are good paying local jobs out there or u can go fifo which 1st year should be on $36+ a hour.
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