The Certificate II in Electrotechnology (NECA Electro-start) is a qualification for aspiring apprentice electricians.
A pre-apprenticeship course lays the foundation for the electrical trade and the electrical apprenticeship over 11 weeks of study.
Why complete an electrical pre-apprenticeship course
Studying four days a week at our Carlton North campus, NECA Electro-start gives you the opportunity to try out elements of the electrical trade before committing to a four-year apprenticeship.
This can help you decide if an electrical apprenticeship is the right path for you. It also let’s prospective employers know you’re serious about your career path.
This is key because you need to be employed as an electrical apprentice to be able to attend trade school and complete your Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician.
Completing a pre-app also introduces you to the electrical trade in a safe way, noting that electrical work experience opportunities are limited because the electrical industry is highly regulated to keep tradespeople and consumers safe.
Why choose NECA for your electrical apprenticeship
We run the NECA Electro-start pre-app course from our Carlton North campus, which was purpose-built for electrical trade learning. All our teachers are licenced electricians who have worked in the electrical industry.
During the course, you’ll learn basic electrical concepts and start using some of the tools and equipment we have in our training facility.
It’s a good sign that an electrical apprenticeship could be a great fit for you, if you find that you’re enjoying working with these resources and are wanting to learn more.
At the conclusion of the Electro-start course, we offer participants the opportunity to apply for an apprenticeship with NECA.
Please note, NECA Electro-start is part-funded by the electrical industry and is highly competitive. There are additional course fees if you choose to participate, which include the cost of the relevant electrical digital textbooks you will use if you progress to the Cert III course.
There are other trade schools who offer pre-apprenticeship courses, some of which are government funded. Please check with your local providers for more information.
What’s next after the pre-apprenticeship
Once you’ve completed your pre-apprenticeship, and have your Certificate II in Electrotechnology, you’ll be ready to apply for apprenticeship jobs – either directly with an electrical contractor or through NECA.
Once you have secured your job as an electrical apprentice, you will be able to take the next step towards an electrical career and enrol in a Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician and start your apprenticeship.
How to apply for NECA Electro-start
If you’re interested in finding out more, please complete the expression of interest form.
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success stories
I had thought that I wanted to go to university, and I'd been set on that my entire life. And then I got there and realised it wasn't for me. My Dad said to me, 'Do an electrical apprenticeship' - that's what he would do.
I wasn't 100 per cent sure what to expect, I was doubting whether I would be capable of carrying out the work due to stereotypes around being a woman. Eventually, from the feedback that I was receiving from my host, from NECA E&C, and from TAFE, my entire attitude towards, not the work, but my own ability to do the work changed.
Pursue what you think would make you happy.
The bit that I enjoy is when you find that niggling little problem that's been hanging around and then you finally fix it. It's such a good feeling to know that you've made something work, and for me in an industrial setting, that happens a lot.
When I was at school, it wasn't presented as an option to be an electrician, so I spent 14 years as a retail manager, had two children, and then when I decided to go back to work, I thought, 'I'm getting too old, now is the time to do something different'. So that's why I did it.
To just turn up, 7am to 3:30pm every day and then tools down, go home – that is my dream job, because it gives you the flexibility to just go home and spend time with your children.
It's a diverse range of different machinery that we get to work on, whether it's tipper trucks, EWP towers, or woodchippers. We maintain a fleet of trucks, and they've got to be serviced and certified every three months. So that requires a lot of testing, a lot of repair work, it's different every day. I enjoy coming to work every day. I heard about the job when my mate Caleb, who is our other mechanic here, said, 'we've got another diesel mechanic apprenticeship going, would you be interested?' And I had a passion for it when I was younger, but I lost it for a few years, but then I wanted to change and get into something that I enjoy doing.
For anyone who's on the fence about being a diesel mechanic, I reckon doing the vocational preparation to start with is a must. I did it in college and it just gave me a lot of enlightenment on what the career could be, whether that's going into light vehicle or heavy diesel.
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