Electrical Distribution Trades Worker
What the work is
Installs, joins, maintains and repairs electrical cables, transmission and distribution systems for both overhead and underground lines.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Installs and maintains distribution overhead and underground conductors and cables, low voltage overhead services, poles, structures and hardware
- Installs cable joints in underground conduits and trenches
- Performs routine maintenance of overhead and underground power lines, cables and auxiliary equipment
- Identifies and diagnoses faults and solves problems in the distribution and underground networks
- Inspects and tests cables and cable joints to identify faults and determine repair or replacement needs
- Selects and prepares cables, connectors and other material for cable jointing
- Terminates cables by connecting them to electrical equipment and overhead lines
- May operate heavy plant equipment such as elevated work platforms and portable equipment such as hydraulic drills
- May undertake substation installation and maintenance, and specialised testing and revenue meter installation
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a power network crew that keeps overhead and underground lines running to towns, farms and suburbs. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- Lights come back on across a whole street after a long night's work
- A faulty cable is found underground on the first dig, with no wasted hours
- The crew finishes a hard job in bad weather and everybody goes home safe
Hard days
- A callout in the dark and the rain, after a day that was already long
- Angry customers who have been without power for hours and want it back now
- Doing a careful job in a heatwave while wearing heavy protective gear
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 381131, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.