Blog / Electrical apprenticeship

How to get an electrical apprenticeship in NZ

By Michael Zwiener · For students · Updated 3 October 2026 · 10 min read

To become an electrician in New Zealand, you do a paid apprenticeship with an electrical business – usually 3 to 4 years – while you work towards a Level 4 qualification. You hold a Trainee Limited Certificate while you learn, pass your exams, then register and get a practising licence. You can start from 16, and there's no upper age limit (Tahatū).

Not sure yet if it's for you? That's normal. This guide shows what the job is really like, the different ways in, and exactly how to apply – so you can decide with real information.

A day as an apprentice electrician

Electricians install and repair wiring and electrical equipment, read diagrams and plans, check systems for faults, safety-test finished work, keep records and help prepare quotes (Tahatū). As an apprentice you do this alongside a qualified electrician, who checks your work.

An example day (made up, to give you a feel – every employer is different):

• Start: meet your supervisor, load cable, fittings and tools into the van and talk through the day's jobs.
• Morning: on a new house, run cables through the timber frame before the walls are lined, following the electrical plan.
• Midday: a call-out to an older home where a circuit keeps tripping. You help trace the fault and learn why it happened.
• Afternoon: test finished work for safety, write down the results and tidy up.
• End of day: fill in the job sheet. Some evenings or weeks you'll have study, a course or assessments.

Electricians usually work regular business hours, but may work evenings or weekends and be on call. The work happens in buildings and on construction sites, sometimes at heights or in cramped, dirty and hazardous spaces, and it can be physically demanding (Tahatū).

Is it right for you?

Tahatū says electricians need to be methodical, accurate and safety-conscious, and that the job suits people who are practical, investigative and organised. Some honest questions to ask yourself:

• Do you like working out why something doesn't work?
• Are you OK in ceilings, under floors and on ladders?
• Can you follow a plan carefully, even when it's tedious? People's safety depends on it.
• Are you happy to keep learning theory and sit exams while you work?

If you answered “maybe” to a few, a day of work experience will tell you more than any article. And if you're weighing up trades, compare with building, plumbing or mechanic apprenticeships. Torn between a trade and a degree? Read apprenticeship vs university.

Will AI change it? Probably in parts – planning, fault-finding tools and paperwork may change as technology improves. The hands-on, safety-critical work in real buildings is much harder to automate, and electrical workers need a practising licence to do prescribed electrical work (EWRB). No job comes with a guarantee, though. More in how AI may change jobs in NZ.

Ways in

Straight from school

You can start an apprenticeship from 16 (Tahatū). You need an employer first – the apprenticeship comes with the job.

While you're still at school

In Years 11–13, ask your careers adviser about:

• Gateway: you work in a real workplace for part of the school year while you keep studying for NCEA.
• A trades academy: you spend 1 or 2 days a week with a training provider and 3 or 4 days at school, working towards NCEA Level 2 or above and industry qualifications at Level 1, 2 or 3.

Tahatū says choosing Gateway or a trades academy at school might help you get an apprenticeship when you leave (Tahatū).

A pre-trade course

Polytechnics and private providers run entry certificates in electrical engineering at Levels 1–3. Tahatū lists them as usually 1 to 2 years of study, with NCEA Level 1 or open entry, and fees of roughly $4,300 to $7,400 (Tahatū). That's a real cost in time and money, so ask a few local employers whether they'd value it before you enrol – some would rather train you from scratch.

A labouring or trade-assistant job first

Some people get their foot in the door doing non-electrical jobs for an electrical firm or on building sites, then ask about an apprenticeship once the boss knows they're reliable. The electrical work itself has to wait: trainees do it under a Trainee Limited Certificate, supervised by a registered and licensed electrical worker (EWRB).

Starting later

There's no upper age limit (Tahatū). If you're 20 or older, different minimum wage rules apply – see pay.

What you need

• NCEA Level 2 to do the training (Tahatū). Keep maths going if you can – the theory and exams lean on it.
• An employer who takes you on as an apprentice.
• A Trainee Limited Certificate from the Electrical Workers Registration Board (EWRB). You and your supervisor complete a Supervision Agreement first, then you apply in the EW Portal. You must complete safety training within 3 months of getting the certificate (EWRB).
• Possibly a driver licence and a drug test – Tahatū lists both as things you may need.

Tip: ask your supervisor how long your Trainee Limited Certificate lasts, and plan your training so you can finish within it.

How to apply, step by step

1. Make a shortlist. Find 8–10 electrical businesses near you. Note what they mostly do – houses, shops and offices, or industrial sites.
2. Get your CV ready. One page, with anything practical: part-time work, sport, building or fixing things, technology projects. Our CV guide for school leavers shows you how, even with no experience.
3. Write a short message. Use the template below or our cover letter guide (it has an apprenticeship example).
4. Call or visit. Ask for the owner or manager: “I want to become an electrician. Are you taking on an apprentice? Could I do a day with you?” Many apprenticeships are never advertised.
5. Contact a training provider too. Tahatū lists four providers of electrical apprenticeships, including Connexis, EarnLearn and Skills Institute (Tahatū). Providers should help you get job-ready and may be able to match you with an employer looking for an apprentice (Tahatū).
6. Search job sites. Try “apprentice electrician” plus your town, and set up an alert.
7. Follow up. A short, polite message a week later makes you stand out.
8. When you get an offer: ask the questions below, then you, your employer and the provider sign up for the apprenticeship, you get a training plan, and you apply for your Trainee Limited Certificate.

Worth telling an employer: through Apprenticeship Boost, employers can get $500 a month (excluding GST) for an eligible apprentice in their first 12 months, for up to 12 months. The employer applies – within 20 days of you starting – and you can't apply yourself (Work and Income). Ask your provider whether your apprenticeship qualifies.

A message you can adapt

Copy the message

Fill in every [bracket] with something true about you. Delete anything that doesn't fit.

Questions to ask before you say yes

• What's the hourly rate, and when does it go up?
• Who pays the training fees, and how?
• Who will supervise me day to day?
• How is the training done – block courses, day release, evening classes or online?
• What kind of work will I mostly do: houses, commercial or industrial?
• Do I need my own tools or a driver licence by a certain date?

Training and registration

Your provider works with you and your employer on a training plan. It can include block courses, day release or evening classes, written assignments and on-the-job assessments (Tahatū). Tahatū's electrical apprenticeship listing says you learn on the job, do courses in person or online, and finish with a New Zealand Certificate at Level 4 (Tahatū).

From apprentice to electrician, according to the EWRB:

1. Complete an apprenticeship and a recognised Level 4 qualification, such as the New Zealand Certificate in Electrical Engineering Theory and Practice (Trade) or the New Zealand Certificate in Electrical Trade.
2. Pass the Electricians Theory and Electricians Regulations coursework and written exams, complete approved safety training and a competence programme.
3. Do your work experience under an Electrician Trainee Limited Certificate.
4. Register with the EWRB as an electrician.
5. Hold a practising licence. All electrical workers need one to do prescribed electrical work. You renew it every 2 years and need to have completed a competence programme in the last 2 years (EWRB).

Pay: apprentice and electrician salary in NZ

While you train

The legal minimum for an apprentice is $19.16 an hour from 1 April 2026 (Employment NZ):

• Aged 16 to 19 and your employment agreement requires at least 40 credits a year of industry training: the starting-out rate, $19.16.
• Aged 20 or older and required to complete at least 60 credits a year: the training rate, $19.16.

At $19.16 an hour, a 40-hour week is $766.40 before tax. The adult minimum wage is $23.95. Many employers pay apprentices more than the minimum, and Tahatū says pay may go up as you learn more skills. Our minimum wage guide has more.

Once you're qualified

According to Tahatū, most electricians earn $66,000 to $107,000 a year, and those at the upper end about $133,000 (Tahatū). Related roles, for qualified workers:

Source: Tahatū occupation profiles (linked in the table), pay before tax, checked 3 October 2026. Pay depends on experience, region and employer.

The routes differ: industrial electricians do an electrical apprenticeship, line mechanics a power line apprenticeship (New Zealand Certificate in Electricity Supply, Level 4) – both with a Trainee Limited Certificate – and automotive electricians an automotive electrical apprenticeship, according to the same Tahatū profiles.

What's changing in 2026–2028

New Zealand is reorganising vocational training (Ministry of Education):

• Since 1 January 2026, eight Industry Skills Boards temporarily look after apprenticeships and traineeships that used to sit with NZIST (formerly Te Pūkenga). Connexis and EarnLearn, two of the providers Tahatū lists for electrical apprenticeships, are now work-based learning divisions of the Energy and Infrastructure board, and their contact details haven't changed.
• New apprentices: the boards can only take on new learners where there's no suitable work-based programme with a polytechnic or other tertiary provider. When you sign up, ask which provider you'll be enrolled with.
• If you're already an apprentice, you stay with your existing work-based learning division, with as few changes as possible.
• By 1 January 2028, these programmes and enrolments move to polytechnics and other tertiary providers, and the boards focus on keeping qualifications trusted and relevant.

For you, the steps stay the same: find an employer, sign up, follow your training plan. Ask your provider whether anything changes for your course. Our guide to apprenticeships in NZ sums up the changes for all trades.

Fees Free is ending. If you complete your apprenticeship by 31 December 2026 and it's your first eligible qualification, Fees Free can cover your final 24 months of training, up to $12,000. You apply within a year of finishing; complete after 31 December 2026 and you're not eligible (Inland Revenue). More in our Fees Free guide.

Your next small step

You don't have to decide your whole future this week. Pick one:

• Write down three electrical businesses near you and what kind of work they do.
• Ask your careers adviser whether there's a Gateway or trades academy place for next year.
• Not sure electrical is your thing? Try the AI coach if you're 16 or older. No sign-up needed.
• Read the apprenticeship overview to compare other trades.

If your school uses Week by Week, the AI coach can show career paths that fit you, how to get in locally, and any current job ads near you, each with an AI estimate of how well you match and what's missing. Join with your school code – no code? Ask your school.

Questions

Sources

1. Tahatū, Electrician (pay, tasks, working conditions, entry requirements; checked 3 October 2026)
2. Tahatū, Apprenticeships in electrical engineering (length, level, providers; checked 3 October 2026)
3. Tahatū, About apprenticeships (age, steps, training plan; checked 3 October 2026)
4. Tahatū, Combine school with work or training (Gateway, trades academies; checked 3 October 2026)
5. Tahatū, Entry certificates in electrical engineering (checked 3 October 2026)
6. Electrical Workers Registration Board, Limited Certificates
7. Electrical Workers Registration Board, Electrician – NZ qualified pathway
8. Electrical Workers Registration Board, Practising Licence
9. Employment New Zealand, Minimum wage rates and types (checked 3 October 2026)
10. Work and Income, Apprenticeship Boost (checked 3 October 2026)
11. Ministry of Education, Redesign of the vocational education and training system (checked 3 October 2026)
12. Inland Revenue, Fees Free (checked 3 October 2026)
13. Tahatū, Industrial electrician, Line mechanic and Automotive electrician (pay; checked 3 October 2026)

Keep reading