As many as one in eight electrical apprentices have been subject to an electric shock at work, a new survey has found.

And this number doubles in cases where apprenticeship training has been delayed.

The Electrical Trade Union (ETU) has published the results of a survey of more than 400 of its members who are undertaking an apprenticeship.

The results are concerning.

For example:

• Almost one in ten apprentices had not started classroom training until the second year of their apprenticeship training or later.
• More than one in eight (13.5 percent) had received an electric shock at work. This number doubles in cases where apprentices have had the commencement of their training delayed.
• One in five could not identify their Apprentice Connect Australia Provider (ACAP) even when prompted with a list of names.

The latest report comes as Australia faces a need to develop a greater number of electricians and electrical workers to cater for demands in terms of housing, clean energy and data centres and to replenish an aging workforce.

All up, Jobs and Skills Australia projects that the nation will need more than 40,000 additional electrical workers across the next five years.

The report also comes as more than half of all apprentices are currently withdrawing before they get their licence. This adds further difficulty to the challenge of finding the additional workers who are needed.

Delayed training, negligent bosses

In its report, the ETU sought to better understand the experiences of its apprentice members in terms of their apprenticeship.

The research included two parts:

• An online survey which was conducted during April and May. This received responses from 447 apprentices, representing approximately ten percent of the union’s apprentice members.
• Further in-depth interviews with twelve randomly selected apprentices who had suffered an electric shock.

According to the union, three themes stood out.

First, there are concerns about apprentices having late starts or disruptions in training during their apprenticeship. This was true of most of the apprentices who were interviewed for the research.

In fact, many of the apprentices who were surveyed reported that they did not commence either TAFE or RTO training until nine months or more after the start of their apprenticeship.

Reasons for the delays varied and included:

• Employers delaying apprentice enrollment in coursework
• Local RTOs refusing to accept apprentice enrollment in coursework until the end of their probationary period
• Apprentices being delayed in signing a training contract and performing non-trade work at an apprentice wage for months before being registered as an apprentices
• Apprentices having their block release for training cancelled unilaterally by their employer.
• Some apprentices not being enrolled due to lack of places.

This, the union says, is concerning.

Early in their training, apprentices are required to complete key units of competency which are critical to ensure that they can operate safely on site.

Through these units, they are trained to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR); apply work, health and safety regulations, codes and practices; and document and apply control measures which are associated with electrotechnology work.

Second, the report uncovered a disregard by some employers of the potential hazards which apprentices face.

Some apprentices who were interviewed reported a cavalier attitude from their employers and/or supervising tradespeople along with a failure to provide adequate supervision.

The supervisor of one apprentice was convinced that receiving an electrical shock was a normal and in fact beneficial part of the trade that would improve the apprentice’s ‘muscle response’ to electric shock.

After receiving a shock, the apprentice was forced to complete his shift without receiving any medical attention.

Such situations are not uncommon.

In fact, many of the apprentices who suffered an electric shock did not receive any testing or treatment even after the incident was reported to their employer.

(According to the union, there is no safe level of exposure to an electric shock.

Any contact with electricity, even at low voltages, can cause significant injury or death. The severity of an electric shock depends on factors such as the voltage, current, duration of contact, and the path the electricity takes through the body. Neurological injury, heart attack and respiratory arrest can have delayed onset 24-48 hours after the initial shock.

For this reason, all apprentices are medically assessed for the need for an ECG and other tests as soon as possible after they receive a shock.)

Support system failing

However, the union’s report was particularly critical of Apprentice Connect Australia Providers (ACAP).

ACAPs are a free national support service for both apprentices and employers regarding apprenticeships.

From the viewpoint of apprentices, ACAPs can help to find employers and suitable training courses, know and understand their rights and provide support to resolve any issues which may arise throughout training.

ACAPs are private companies who are contracted by the Commonwealth Government to provide the service.

All apprentices and employers are required to have an ACAP prior to commencing an apprenticeship or hiring an apprentice.

According to the union, however, the survey raised concerns about the level of support which is being provided.

Even when prompted with a list of providers, one in five apprentices were unable to identify which of the ACAPs was mentoring them.

Many either could not articulate the purpose of their ACAP or believe that their ACAP failed to meet its purpose.

Furthermore, the union documented what it says are gaps in ACAP support.

This included mentors failing to find training places for apprentices, not advocating for apprentices to their employers, failing to ensure that on-the-job training is suitable and adequately supervised and not providing advice to handle disputes with employers.

In one case, an injured apprentice called their ACAP for advice after being threatened with dismissal for saying that he would make a workers compensation claim.

The ACAP did not provide any advice and merely offered a meeting for two weeks later.

The apprentice was dismissed the next day despite the dismissal being a clear breach of workers compensation legislation and general protections under the Fair Work Act.

Apprentices deserve better

Electrical Trades Union National Secretary Michael Wright said the findings are concerning.

“Young people learning any trade should be taught how to work safe, get training on the tools and in the classroom, and have someone in the corner to stand up for them,” Wright said.

“We need an apprenticeship system that works for apprentices, not the other way round,” Wright said.

“We need apprentice electricians to wire Australia into the future economy and build our way out of the housing crisis.

Wright said that more needs to be done to better support apprentices.

“This research shows that our training system is failing apprentices.

“We are withholding key safety training until apprentices have been on the tools for more than a year, and this is doubling the rate at which they are experiencing potentially deadly electric shocks.

“It suggests that $200 million of taxpayer money is given to supposed mentors who are absent, ineffective, or actively hostile to the interests of the apprentice they have been paid to support.

“This has been reported even when apprentices most need support – when they have had their training withheld, have been exposed to electric shocks, or they’ve fallen out with their boss.

“We know we need more than 40,000 additional electrical workers in the next five years. We also know that nearly half of all electrical apprentices withdraw before they get their license.

“Addressing the grave failures of policy and empathy that this research lays bare would be a great place to start and now would be the perfect time to do it.”

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