An electrician fixes problems with electrical equipment by examining them carefully
and then repairing any electrical problems found.
An electrician has to:
- know a lot about electricity and electrical circuits
- be able to read wiring diagrams to plan the layout of wiring
systems eg. switchboards and power outlets, in houses, shopping centres, factories and
then put them in place
- provide enough electrical outlets within a building to allow
for all the power required
- be able to increase the amount of electrical outlets within a
building by increasing the capacity of the switchboard
- connect the wiring system to the power supply
- test for broken parts or electrical faults
- test circuits and applicances
- order and replace broken parts.
To become an electrician you need to have completed Year 10
at school and to then complete a course at TAFE. To be fully qualified, you need to be
apprenticed to a practising electrician for a few years.
Many electricians are now involved with
installing and testing of solar energy panels!
Did you know?
- In 1747, Benjamin Franklin in America and William Watson in
England independently realised that all material had some type of "electric"
nature
- Thomas Edison used his DC (direct current) generator to
provide electricity to light his laboratory and later to
illuminate the first New York street to be lit by electric lamps, in September 1882.
- The unit of electrical charge is named after the French
physicist Charles A. de Coulomb
- Electricity is a necessity for modern civilisation. The
understanding of electricity has led to the invention of motors, generators, telephones,
radio and television, X-ray devices, computers, and nuclear energy systems.
- An electrician has to have normal colour vision ie. not have
red/green colour blindness, as electrical wiring is colour coded.
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