Powercor apprentices spark a bright career

What do a former carpenter, window installer, karate teacher and a rappel firefighter have in common?

They are all part of a diverse group of new apprentices who have secured one of the sought-after roles at electricity distributor CitiPower and Powercor.

Three women and 12 men have now begun their careers at CitiPower and Powercor, and were selected from a field of almost 1000 applicants after an intense recruitment process, which included physical, practical and behaviour-based assessments.

• Download radio grabs of Powercor Head of Field Services, Ross Young, talking about the 2022 apprentice intake.

The new recruits, based at Ballarat, Bendigo, Horsham, Kyneton, Cobram, Maryborough, Ardeer and Burnley, will train as line workers, meter technicians, cable jointers or fitters, all of who will contribute to providing reliable and safe power to more than 1.1 million homes and businesses.

CitiPower and Powercor’s Head of Field Services Ross Young said the diverse backgrounds of the new apprentices would bring new perspectives and skills to the frontline roles.

“Our apprentices will play all play a critical role in delivering for our customers, whether it’s responding to power outages during extreme weather events or upgrading the network to support our customers connect solar or batteries,” Mr Young said.

Two Ballarat-based recruits, Michaela Shirley and Ebony O’Doherty-Bowman, had previously secured Powercor scholarships at Federation University TAFE, which aim to support more woman to join the electrical trades industry.

Ebony O’Doherty-Bowman said her first few weeks with Powercor had been exactly what she was hoping for.

“The people that I am surrounded by are committed, passionate and willing to help at the drop of a hat,” Ms O’Doherty-Bowman said.

“The scholarship took away the barrier for financial stress whilst trying to secure my apprenticeship and allowed me to focus more attention towards improving my knowledge and skills.”

Mr Young said the recruits all had a strong role to play in helping deliver the transition to a cleaner energy future.

“They are joining our business at a really interesting time as our services and infrastructure expand to enable the two-way flow of power while still delivering safe and reliable electricity,” Mr Young said.

Since 2001, CitiPower and Powercor has recruited more than 450 apprentices and trainees as we build our trades, technical and operational workforce.

“We are continuing to invest in our workforce and the communities we operate in,” Mr Young said.

In addition to the new apprentices, Powercor has also employed an additional 10 fully qualified tradespeople across its depots to help expand its services for customers further.

Successful apprentices and their depot locations are listed below.