rmullard

Hi,

Can anyone tell me why I need an A Grade Electrician Licence for an Railway Signalling job in Australia.

And what is an A Grade Electrician Licence?

I have worked in Railway signalling for nearly twenty five years in the UK, and not once have I been asked if I have an A Grade Electrician Licence.

Any advice or reason would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rich

Blossom

Which State are you looking at moving to?

rmullard

Hi Blossom,

We are not really looking at moving yet, just applying for jobs at the moment on the Railway within the signalling maintenance and installation and we are not really fussy about whereabouts, but are preferably looking to move to Sydney, Brisbane that sort of area.

I have applied for jobs via agency (Rail personnel) and they replied back to me today to ask if I had an A Grade Electricians Licence, they didn't say what state of Australia in was in though.

They submitted my CV anyway so just have to hope for the best, but was just wondering as to why you needed an A Grade Electricians licence to work on the railway in Australia and what an A Grade Electrician licence is?

I have two IRSE licences, one is an Signal Maintainer licence, and can't remember the other one, will have to look that one up in my log book.

Rich

Pollyana

Because this is Australia and you need licences and paperwork for everything. Even Storemen are now expected to study for a certificate in box-packing and despatch......

The Bloke

I would assume that the licences that you have, like most others, are not valid in Australia. You need an Australian one so that you can work in any position within the trade. It can be illegal to work in any position, regardless of what you have, and regardless on how long you have been currently doing the job in the UK, so you may need to do an approved course at a TAFE college before they will give you one.
There are numerous threads on this and similar subjects on the forums, so I suggest that you use the search function to find them, but in the meantime read these links:
http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/electrica...seas/index.htm
www.erac.gov.au/downloads/erac_trainelect.pdf;
www.erac.gov.au/downloads/erac_trainelect.pdf;
www.deir.qld.gov.au/pdf/eso/licencesfull.pdf;
http://www.deir.qld.gov.au/electrica...tate/index.htm

rmullard

Thanks for your replies, I would understand more if I was actually going for an electricians job, but I am looking to work on the railway and therefore don't really understand why an electricians licence is necessary, but I will see what the company says and if necessary will have to train up and get the licence.

I hope you understand the above, but as I stated I an not an electrician, I am an Signalling Maintainer, Engineer if you like or Technician.

So if this has confused you, then I apologise.

Also if I have to train up to get the A grade Electricians licence, can I do that in the UK?

Thanks

Rich

Janna and Nick

Hi Rich,

I don't know anything about this subject but was just wondering if the reason you needed one is because you will be maintaining electric signals attached to a mains supply etc. Any one who connects to or disconnects anything from a mains supply is required to have an A grade licence. That may be the reason... but like I said I have no experience in this field.

My OH is an electrician so I know a bit about the A grade licence.

Hope you find the answer!

The_Pom_From_Aus

rmullard;

may i say anything that passes a current even signals you must have a qualification on the railways even in the UK they do signals & railway power therefore you must have qualifications so you can work alone with confidence. in Australia you must have the right qualifications to cover all work this entails you doing an apprenticeship 1st then may years experience in the Job.

If you have no apprenticeship qualifications you shall be refused a TRA its as simple as that.However if you have all the right documentation & qualifications also if your under 45 when the application has been granted you may migrate but i can assure you now you shall have to sit all A class exams.
Then thats a real mix bag of electrical theory & practical exams designed for the general electrician so to be honest if you have no hand on electrical experience you may be buggered.

regards

The Bloke

If you are working with anything to do with electricity, you will need a licence to work, and no you can't get an Australain licence in the UK. If it says in the job description that you need that particular licence, you will have to have one or they will look at someone who has one before they look at your application.

The Bloke

Not only that, but in Australia, it is a legislative requirement, ie law, of workplace health and safety.

qwertyuiop

A little off subject but nonetheless shows what a total cock up the licencing system is....
Friday morning woke up to our property electricity pole keeling over. The lines were ok but rang Energex to come out and disconnect the power so we could get a new pole in place. They came out within the hour, disconnected the supply at the road, unhooked the cables at the property pole and coiled the cable nice and neatly up to the fuse box. All well so far.
Got the pole in by midday, all new hooks to take the cables, the bees knees.
Rang Energex to reconnect, they arrived within the hour again. They inspected the pole, scratched their heads, looked at the coiled cable, scratched their heads some more then informed me that I would have to get an electrician to hook the cable on to the new pole. Ok. I am no scholar but these guys are about to reconnect my power from the street mains supply and they need an electrician to lift a cable up off the ground and loop it over a hook?????
Asked them nicely if they could do it......"No, we're not authorised to work on your property". was the reply.
Anyway $90 later we had got an electrician out for the two minutes to literally pick the bloody cable up and loop it onto the new pole. I could have stuck the money you know where when he billed for $90 with his smug cheesy grin!!
So there you have it......red tape gone mad. God only knows what you'd need to work on a signalling system!!!!
GOOD LUCK. You will need it!

The Bloke

Each organisation has it's own specific rules on what their employees can and can't do, especially most importantly when dealing with WH&S, workers compensation, union demarkation etc. Why they can't work on your property because if they did, their workers comp insurance probably wouldn't cover them if anything happened.

qwertyuiop

No, by me giving them authority should have been enough for this particular job....its just that they are programmed to refuse without considering the job in question at all. As I said, red tape gone mad.

rmullard

Hi I understand that you need a qualification for signals etc.. that you have mentioned above and for that I have qualifications and experience as I am a Team leader leading the team in fault finding and installation etc... I don't work off the mains supply as someone mentioned that if you work off the mains supply then therefore you will need an Electricians Licence etc..

I also understand that if I don't have the qualifcation that the company is looking for then obviously someone who has will get looked at first, but where the signalling, installation etc.. comes into it I am qualified, just haven't got an A grade Electricians licence, but two recognised IRSE licences, and not all the companies have ask for an A grade Electricians licence, just the one so that why I was curious as to why they ask.

Thanks for all your replies anyway.

Will let you know how things go later.

Rich