Employers – when your electrical apprentices finish

Introduction

An apprentice is a licensed electrical worker only while under a training contract and under supervision by an employer.

An employer must only use licensed electrical workers to carry out electrical installation work.

An apprentice is a licensed electrical worker while:

under a training contract
supervision by an employer.

If an apprentice’s training contract has expired, they are no longer considered a licensed electrical worker.

For you to continue to legally employ your apprentice, you and your apprentice must decide what steps to take next.

To see the options an apprentice can take, see After your apprentice training contract ends

We encourage you to read that page, along with the information on this page.

If your apprentice’s schooling and Licensed Electrician's Assessment (LEA) are complete

Your apprentice may apply for an A Grade Electrician’s licence

Your apprentice may be eligible to apply for an A Grade Electrician's licence if they:

completed their apprenticeship training contract
obtained a Certificate III in Electrotechnology
successfully completed all licensing assessments (LEAs)
have the correct documentation
complete an Electrician’s licence application on ESVConnect
pay the licensing fee.

Your apprentice should:
1. Confirm their eligibility using the
  
  Apply for Electrician's licence checklist
  PDF 192.87 KB
  Updated 28 Apr 2023
  
  (opens in a new window)
2. Confirm they have all the correct documentation
3. Register with ESVConnect
4. Complete an Electrician’s licence application on ESVConnect
5. Pay the licensing fee
If they are eligible, and continue doing electrical installation work but don't get an A Grade Electrician's licence within 3 months they are working illegally. Both you and your apprentice may be subject to prosecution and severe penalties.

Employers of electrical apprentices - flowchart

Employers of electrical apprentices - flowchart

(See numbered steps on the flowchart image)

[Start]

1) Is your apprentice’s schooling or profiling complete? -> Yes -> (go to 2)
|
No
|
Apprentice should - extend the training contract
- contact their trade school & complete schooling ---- (go to 1)

2) Have they passed all assessments? -> Yes -> (go to 3)
|
No -> You can keep employing them for electrical work for up to 3 months from completion date -> After 3 months -> (go to 5)

3) Have you given the apprentice an Employer’s letter**? -> No -> Provide a letter to your apprentice apprentice

** An Employer’s letter includes these points:
* That your apprentice has carried out a minimum period of 12 months of electrical installation work with the company (dates to be provided)
*The type of electrical work they have carried out
* The type of equipment they have worked on
* The type of industries they have worked in (domestic, industrial or commercial)

The letter must be
- on a business letterhead (or have the company details included) and
- be signed by you/the employer
- > (go to 3)
|
Yes -> (go to 4)

4) Have they passed all licensing assessments and gained an A Grade licence? -> Yes -> (go to 5)
|
No -> (go to 6)

5) Check eligibility for Class A Electrician’s licence [End]

6) Apprentice must obtain a Supervised Worker's licence
This licence is temporary. It allows them to do electrical installation work under the supervision of an A Grade Electrician until they have obtained their own A Grade Electrician’s licence.
|
Have they got a Supervised Worker’s licence? -> Yes -> You may employ them temporarily while they work to get an A Grade licence -> (go to 4)

7) It is illegal for you to employ them to do electrical work.
Download' Employers of electrical apprentices - flowchart'

If your apprentice’s schooling or profiling is incomplete

1. Extend the apprentice training contract completion date.You can do this by completing a form here: Changing your apprenticeship or traineeship (VRQA). *
  
  Submit the completed Training Contract Extension form to your Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN).
2. Have the apprentice contact their trade school to complete any outstanding schooling.
* Note: both you and the apprentice need to complete the form. If you are not willing to extend the contract, the apprentice will need to find another employer so they can complete their apprenticeship.

Warning

You must not employ unlicensed people.

You must not continue to use an apprentice to carry out electrical installation work if their contract ends and is not extended. If you do, both you and your apprentice may be subject to prosecution and severe penalties.

If your apprentice’s schooling is complete, but they haven't passed all licensing assessments

Your apprentice needs to apply for a Supervised Worker’s Licence (L).

If your apprentice’s training contract is complete, but they have not yet successfully passed all licensing assessments, you can continue to employ them for 3 months from their completion date. The apprentice can carry out electrical installation work in this 3 month period.

If they do not pass all licensing assessments and gain an A Grade Electrician's licence in this 3 month period, they must have a Supervised Worker’s Licence

The Supervised Worker's Licence is temporary. It allows them to do electrical installation work under the supervision of an A Grade Electrician until they have obtained their own A Grade Electrician’s licence.

The steps required for your apprentice to obtain a Supervised Worker’s Licence are:
1. Confirm their eligibility using the checklist:
  
  Apply for a Supervised Worker's Licence
  PDF 150.05 KB
  Updated 16 May 2023
  
  (opens in a new window)
2. Confirm they have all the correct documentation
3. Register with ESVConnect
4. Complete a Supervised Worker's licence application on ESVConnect(opens in a new window)
5. Pay the licencing fee
You may employ an apprentice temporarily while they work to get an A Grade licence.

An apprentice must stop carrying out electrical installation work immediately if:
- it's more than 3 months past the apprentice's completion date
- they have not obtained an electrical licence.
If your apprentice continues to work under these circumstances, both you and your apprentice may be subject to prosecution and severe penalties.

Licensed Electrician's Assessments

In addition to the training your apprentice completes to obtain the Certificate III in Electrotechnology, your apprentice must also complete the following three Licenced Electrician's assessments (LEAs) before they can apply for an A Grade Electrican's license:

Safe Working Practice (SWP)
Licensed Electrician's Theory (LET)
Licensed Electrician's Practical (LEP).

Your apprentice will need a letter from their trade school - 'Authorisation to Undertake the Licensed Electrician’s Assessment (LEA)' - stating they can attempt an LEA assessment as they have finished the required units. They must have this letter before they can book an assessment.

Your apprentice can attempt an assessment at one of these assessment venues

We have sample assessments to assist the apprentice – see LEA sample assessments

Special consideration

Special consideration may be available to your apprentice when attempting their licensing assessments. Special consideration applies for medical and other circumstances to allow:

extra time
special conditions.

The apprentice may apply to Energy Safe – see Special consideration for licensing assessments

Employer's support letter

When apply for a licence, your apprentice must provide evidence of 12 months' electrical installation work. This is covered by a letter of support from you as their employer.

The dates provided on the letter must show the period they were under your employment, and that they were under an apprentice contract of training. The letter must show

dates within the 3 months' grace period after completing their contract of training
that the apprentice held a Supervised Worker's Licence.

An example of this letter is on this page: Documentation needed for an Electrician's licence

Note: The minimum period of 12 months' electrical installation work may be shown across several employer support letters.

Other helpful resources

These resources include information you might find helpful:

Australian Apprenticeship Support Network (AASN) — your first point of contact for all queries about apprenticeship contracts.
The VRQA have a range of valuable help — see Apprenticeships and Traineeships(opens in a new window). If you have concerns about your apprentice or want to understand the requirements of an employer with an apprentice.
Apprentice Support Officers(opens in a new window) (ASOs) — offer a free and confidential support and advice service, to help apprentices with workplace, training or personal issues that sometimes affect apprentices.
Connect with us (Australian Apprenticeships)(opens in a new window) — resources about apprenticeships and more.
Training and assessment providers(opens in a new window) — see Electrical training providers.
Requirements for the effective supervision of apprentice electricians

Further information

If you would like further information, you can contact the Licensing team:

Use the Contact form
Email licensing@energysafe.vic.gov.au
Call our team directly on 1800 815 721 during these hours:
- Monday, Thursday, Friday — 9:00am to 4:00pm
- Tuesday — 12:30pm to 4:00pm
- Wednesday — 9:00am to 12:30pm.

Keep in touch

We encourage you to stay informed about important developments and safe working in our industry. See our Media Centre(opens in a new window) for alerts, media releases and more.

Date: 30/12/2024 15:43

The currency and accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed once printed or saved to a storage device. If in doubt, please check the Energy Safe Victoria website for the current version.

Licensing

Reviewed 9 October 2023