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42 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
S PR I NG 20 1 6
ARE APPRENTICES IN
UNSAFE HANDS?
I
n May of this year an apprentice
electrician was taken to hospital
after falling 5m at the Barangaroo
construction site in Sydney. According
to the Electrical Trades Union, the
first-year apprentice was working with
another apprentice when he fell
through a temporary floor cover over
one of the service risers.
Thankfully, the man will make a full
recovery; however, this terrible accident
highlights two truths. The first is the
dangerous nature of electrical jobs
and the second being the vulnerability
of apprentices, especially those in the
early stages of training.
An electrical apprenticeship is one of
the only jobs where you can get killed
in the first few days of work and that’s
why apprentice safety is something I’m
so passionate about. While I believe
on-the-job training is the best training,
I want employers across the industry to
recognise the need to increase safety
measures to protect those who are
most vulnerable; our apprentices.
Unfortunately though, many
employers have adopted bad practices
as a means of saving time and money.
This means apprentices are often not
adequately supervised on the job. In
my own career, I’ve seen cases where
fourth year apprentices take on the
supervision role for second year
apprentices. This is not only illegal but
dangerous. Fourth year apprentices
aren’t qualified electricians and,
generally speaking, are less likely to
be strict with peers or to check their
work thoroughly - creating a risk for
everyone involved.
Direct supervision should be
undertaken with a qualified electrician
for a minimum of 12 months for
absolutely everything. As time goes
on, of course it’s natural to give the
apprentice more and more responsibility
but not complete independence.
The reality is that even a simple
job can take unexpected turns which
apprentices aren’t always prepared
for. This is particularly true with the
rise of the DIYer which means a simple
WITH NEWS OF ACCIDENTS
AND FATALITIES FEATURING
ELECTRICAL APPRENTICES
SEEMINGLY ON THE RISE,
REBECCA
MAIR
EXPLAINS THE DOS AND
DON’TS OF APPRENTICE SAFETY.
BEC SPARKY
BY
REBECCA
MAIR