By Neville Williams, General Manager, Specialist Electrical Solutions, member of NESMA Queensland.
Australia’s switchboard manufacturing sector is facing a chronic shortage of skilled electricians – and the challenge is only growing. Across the country, NESMA members are competing for the same limited pool of qualified people, with companies often forced to recruit from one another just to keep up with demand.
This shortage is not just a workforce issue; it’s a recognition issue.
Outside the switchboard manufacturing industry, there remains a perception that building a switchboard is “low-level” electrical work – when in reality, it demands some of the most advanced technical and problem-solving skills in the trade.
The current system
At present, TAFE and training authorities often refuse to allow “Electrical Fitter Mechanic” apprentices employed by switchboard manufacturers to complete their full electrical licence without spending three to six months on site with a contractor. While site experience has value, it unfairly diminishes the complexity and importance of switchboard manufacturing – a crucial component of so many electrical installations.
Modern switchboards are no longer simple distribution panels. They are sophisticated, smart systems incorporating metering, monitoring, load-shedding, PLC control, and advanced communications. They are the nerve centre of industrial or commercial sites, handling the highest currents and the most intricate protection and control arrangements.
If you hand a typical site electrician a switchboard to build, they’ll quickly realise the depth of specialist skill required – from interpreting complex single-line diagrams and bending copper busbars with precision, to managing layouts, ensuring compliance with standards, and performing rigorous QA and testing.
Why switchboard manufacturing needs to be more highly regarded
There are three key reasons why switchboard manufacturing needs to be more highly regarded in Australia:
- Keeping manufacturing in Australia – Skilled switchboard builders are essential to sustaining local manufacturing capability. If we allow this expertise to decline, we increase our dependence on imports and lose both jobs and quality control.
- The switchboard is the heart of every project – No other component deals with such current, complexity, or consequence. The skill to design, assemble, and test these systems is foundational to the nation’s critical infrastructure.
- Ensuring adherences to Standards such as AS 61439, so we have a level playing field build on training.
What it takes to build a switchboard
Building a switchboard demands a unique mix of electrical, mechanical, and problem-solving skills, amongst many other specialised skills. A qualified switchboard electrician must be able to:
- Interpret complex single-line diagrams (SLDs) and cross-check the bill of materials to ensure every component is correct.
- Plan the physical layout so all equipment fits precisely, allowing space for safe cabling and access.
- Measure, cut and bend copper busbars with millimetre accuracy – often involving intricate offsets and twists.
- Apply sound mechanical judgment to support, insulate, and connect high-current conductors safely.
- Select and size cables correctly, sometimes without explicit specification, ensuring compliance and safety.
- Maintain exceptional neatness and precision, with straight ducting, clearly numbered wiring, and perfect phase polarity.
- Configure control and metering systems, including programming, load shedding, and energy monitoring.
- Conduct rigorous testing and QA, checking that every connection, joint and component matches design standards and performs reliably.
These are not entry-level tasks – they are the work of highly skilled tradespeople whose expertise forms the core of every major electrical installation.
A call to arms
Using NESMA’s collective voice as spokespeople for the industry, we can come together and change the narrative. Switchboard building should not be seen as the “end of the line” for electricians – it should be the pinnacle.
We call on all NESMA members to:
- Advocate collectively for switchboard manufacturing to be recognised as a specialist elective or stream within the electrical trade.
- Engage with TAFE and training authorities to review apprenticeship structures so that “on-site” work is not the only recognised pathway to competency.
- Invest in training and image-building, to attract the next generation of electricians who see switchboard manufacturing for what it is – highly skilled, precision work that powers every project.
Switchboard electricians are not “low grade” – they are the craftspeople at the core of Australian industry. It’s time our training systems and trade culture reflected that truth.
Let’s work together to make our industry the pinnacle, not the afterthought.
