'big Buzz' For Star Electrical Apprentice

The Age

Saturday August 16, 2008

Josh Jennings

MICHAEL BOROWIK'S career as an electrician almost never was. He can remember first wanting to be an electrician at the age of nine, but a high school careers counsellor dissuaded him from pursuing the trade.

"They said it's a very hard industry to get into and unless you know somebody in the industry, you'd struggle to get a job," he says. "I was disappointed, but I accepted what they said because the lady that ran the careers thing was supposed to be pretty good at what she did."

He enrolled in an advanced diploma in computer systems engineering, but by the second year he realised his heart wasn't in it. His yearning to become an electrician was as strong as ever, so when a job opportunity with a domestic contractor surfaced, he seized it.

He's now employed by Carlton group training company 370 Degrees Group, and says the best part of being an electrician is the sense of accomplishment he experiences when he finishes a job, especially when it's a difficult job.

"You get a pretty big buzz out of it," he says. "With my previous employer, we worked on a lot of refrigeration breakdowns, so during summer I'd be out at 11pm or 2am and when you finish a breakdown at that time, that feels good."

Mr Borowik becomes a qualified electrician next March, and making the transition from apprentice tradesman will change things significantly, he says.

"Responsibilities go up 100%, because whereas apprentices have no right to sign off on their work, tradespeople have to sign off on their work. So, if something is wrong, your signature is there and your name is there, and you're liable for any mistakes."

Tradespeople are often charged with the responsibility of showing new apprentices the ropes, too, Mr Borowik says.

"If you have a new apprentice working with you, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with teaching them how to do things correctly and being mindful of the industry's regulations and rules."

Thanks to the large size of the industry, Mr Borowik says he's still to determine the exact career path to take. He likes the idea of working on the construction side of the industry - "there's quite a lot of work in that area at the moment" - and studying electrical engineering or motor control as a pathway to heavy industry work appeals to him, too.

Whatever direction Mr Borowik decides to take, one of his recent accomplishments ought to hold him in good stead with future employers. He won the 2008 National Electrical and Communications Association of Australia apprentice of the year award in the commercial/domestic category.

"It was a total surprise," he says. "I didn't know the competition I was up against, but I knew there were quite a lot of other applicants. It should change things because this particular award is highly regarded in our industry; NECA's the big industry body and so far a lot of people have been pretty amazed."

For others considering entering the trade, Mr Borowik says they will be performing a vital job and will have plenty of incentives to take pride in their performance.

"Our industry is one of the more dangerous industries out there. Electricity's around us every day and it doesn't take much to kill you. If you don't have the proper training, it's very easy to make mistakes and put other people's lives at risk. It's a vital industry, too, because you can't go without power. Refrigerators run on electricity, as do airports, computers and economies. Everything needs electricity and it's all got to be done legally so, yes, you need an electrician." -- JOSH JENNINGS

© 2008 The Age

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