Sarah didn’t start her career in the electrical industry. She started it directing traffic.
As a traffic controller contracted to CitiPower and Powercor, she spent her days on site watching substation electricians work. She got curious. The people around her noticed, and encouraged her to look into a pre-apprenticeship. Then CitiPower and Powercor came to her TAFE, talked about their apprenticeship program and the different specialised roles on offer, and something clicked.
She applied. External recruiters from her past, people she’d dealt with long before she found CitiPower and Powercor, had told her she’d never get a job as an electrician.
She’s now in her fourth year as an apprentice substation electrician at the Burnley Depot, about to sit her final exam.
Inside the substation
Substations are the part of the electricity network most people never see or think about. They step voltage up or down so power can move efficiently from transmission lines to homes, businesses, hospitals, and schools. Without them, the grid doesn’t work.
Sarah’s job is to install and maintain the equipment that keeps those substations running: transformers, circuit breakers, high-voltage switchboards, and more.
“A typical day can’t really be summed up because we do such a large range of work,” she says. “One day you could be maintaining the incoming high-voltage lines, and the next you could be rewiring a switchboard for the light and power.”
The one constant is the crew.
“One thing that is always consistent from day to day is that you’re working with a crew who look out for you and promote a safe and positive environment.”
A living archive of knowledge
Sarah came in expecting competent people. What she found on site was something closer to a living archive.
“The amount of knowledge that the people working there have is incredible, especially the crews I work with. We’ve got people who have been working there for 50 or 60 years, and they’re still there to this day.”
And those people don’t hoard what they know.
“They’re always willing to pass on any knowledge they can to you. If you don’t feel confident doing something, they’re willing to stand back and help you work your way through it in however way you learn. They’re always there for you, not only professionally, but personally as well.”
Solving the hard problems
“When you’re faced with a really difficult task and everyone is working together to get everything sorted, someone comes up with an idea and all of a sudden everything starts flowing. It’s a pretty good feeling, especially when something isn’t working in the beginning, and then you’ve got it fixed by the end. You go home feeling like you’ve achieved something for the day.”
How the apprenticeship works
CitiPower and Powercor run one of the most established apprenticeship programs in Victoria. Since 2001, more than 450 apprentices have come through, and over 98% of those who start the four-year program go on to complete it and continue with the company. About two thirds of the 700-strong in-house field workforce started as apprentices.
The program covers all TAFE course and tuition fees, provides paid leave to attend TAFE, and all tools and equipment. Apprentices work a nine-day fortnight, with roles spread across Melbourne and regional Victoria, from Burnley and Brooklyn through to Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Mildura, and beyond.
For women, transgender women, and non-binary people, CitiPower and Powercor also offer a Women’s Pre-Apprenticeship Scholarship for those undertaking a Certificate II in Electrotechnology, valued at up to $2,000 to help cover tools, clothing, rent, childcare, or lost income while studying.
Sarah’s advice
“Keep trying and don’t listen to what anyone else says. I started apprenticeships in the past that didn’t work out, and I was told by recruiters and many others that I would never get a job as an electrician.”
“I think you are the only thing stopping you from getting a job. So keep trying, keep applying, and ask questions. That would be the number one thing: always ask questions.”
Keen to explore a career in electrical trades? Check out apprenticeship opportunities with CitiPower and Powercor here.
