How electricians from diverse backgrounds are helping to break down bias, and change the trade for the better

The times are indeed changing, with a growing number of sparkies from diverse backgrounds joining the profession.

As a young bloke, Sebastian wanted to become an electrician, but two significant roadblocks scuttled his plans.

“In Year 10, I did my work experience with an electrician, and I was very interested in doing it as a career,” he says. “However, my grades at school weren’t great at all, and I didn’t really have much self-confidence.”

After school, Sebastian worked as a truck driver and in logistics before eventually circling back to the trade that first piqued his
interest.

At 33, he became a mature age electrical apprentice.

“By this time, I had my head up high and I had more confidence,” Sebastian says.

“I’d become a father, and I wanted to have a trade, so I crunched the numbers and figured I could do it.”

Sebastian is one of a growing number of contractors joining the profession from diverse backgrounds.

Tradies of all creeds

Diversity and inclusion are now firmly on the radar of Aussie businesses of all sizes, says Grazia Pecoraro, a Senior Associate at consulting firm Diversity Partners, which specialises in diversity and inclusive leadership.

“We’ve seen an increase in interest across all organisations,” she says. “Particularly in micro and small businesses, there’s a lot more robust discussion around diversity and inclusion than there was 10 years ago.”

In the trades, she says, “Industry is acknowledging that the systems and processes that in the past encouraged people to think about the electrical trade as a career were more skewed towards younger Anglo-Saxon males. Now, we’re seeing that change.”

According to the National Centre for Vocational Education Research, there are just over 10,000 mature-age electrical apprentices aged between 25 and 49 currently in training – up from just over 7,000 in 2017.

Similar increases, albeit from much smaller baselines, show more women – who comprise just eight per cent of licensed electricians – and people from Indigenous backgrounds are joining the profession.

Being the change

An expanded pool of potential employees is one of the biggest advantages of embracing diversity and inclusion for bosses and businesses, but there’s often more to it than simply opening your eyes to hiring different types of people. Sometimes you need to facilitate change in more practical ways.

“There’s obviously a technical requirement for the role of an electrician in terms of education, but there are some parts of our society that may not necessarily be able to access that,” Pecoraro says.

“It can help to think differently about where you’re sourcing your people from, and what you can do to disrupt the ‘I leave school and this is what I want to do’ pathway.”

When the new owners of Wilco Electrical in Perth, who both have Aboriginal heritage, took over the business in 2015, they put in place an initiative to create 20 Aboriginal apprenticeships by 2020.

“The first thing that we wanted to do as directors of the business was improve on the diversity within the business and that involved creating opportunities for Aboriginal people,” says Director Tim Bidstrup, who counts Gemcell member CNW Myaree as one of the business’ main suppliers.

“We found that there were not that many Aboriginal tradespeople out there, which prompted us to create our own initiative.”

Because women are also underrepresented in the trades, Bidstrup says they sought to create a better gender balance. The result?

Mission accomplished: “By 2020 we created 22 positions – all Aboriginal people, and a mixture of men and women,” says Bidstrup.

At the moment, Wilco Electrical has eight Indigenous apprentices on the books, including two women. Apart from being personally rewarding, Bidstrup says the business has benefited from a shift in its client base.

“It’s allowed us to expand to serve a different client base who value that diversity and different perspective. It has moved us from being in an industry that is notoriously price driven to working with clients who value their social impact.”

A foot in the door

Practically speaking, employing someone from a diverse background is much the same as any other hire, Bidstrup says.

“Once they’re part of our culture and surrounded by the success of their peers, it’s the same as every other apprentice.

“Depending on the stage of life that any apprentice is at, there are challenges that they go through, and there are things that they need our support for. The value that diversity brings to our business and our culture far outweighs any challenges that it might throw up.”

And, of course, everyone has something unique to offer.

Sebastian, who finished his apprenticeship in 2020 and now works as a qualified electrician in the government sector, after stints in printing and mining, says extra life experience has helped him navigate his new career.

“I had absolutely no problems finding companies to work for as a mature age apprentice,” he says.

“People would say the mature age guys are worldly and they know safety.

“And being a bit more rounded with my experience, I’ve found I can get my foot in the door in different industries and have enough of an understanding to hit the ground running, especially being older and with a bit more confidence.”