Career move: electricians and the security industry

The rapidly growing security industry offers licensed electricians lucrative cabling opportunities and the move into this industry may be easier than you think.

Getting the right skills and accreditation to cross over into the security industry can provide new work options like the National Broadband Network (NBN), smart wiring and other projects that give workers and businesses a more competitive edge in the industry.

The Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL) has noticed an increasing number of electricians looking to diversify their skill set and expand their offering to include cabling related services. ASIAL is one of five Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) accredited cabling registrars under the Telecommunications Act 1997.

There are several pathways electricians can take to become a cabler.

Types of registration

All cabling work must be performed by a registered cabler in the telecommunications, security, electrical, fire and data industries, in accordance with the ACMA ‘Cabling Provider Rules’. There are three types of cabling registrations available under the ACMA legislative requirements.

Open Registration: This is the most common cabling registration as it allows you to carry out all types of cabling work on domestic or commercial premises where the cabling that is used terminates on a socket, a network termination device (NTD) or a main distribution frame (MDF). If you hold an Open Registration and undertake specialist cabling work (ie, installation, maintenance or repairs) you will need to have internal and cabling endorsements/specialist competencies on your licence.

• Internal cabling:
  • Structured cabling (covers data; cat 5 and 6)
  • Coaxial cabling (television and CCTV)
  • Optical fibre cabling (internal cabling required when working on the NBN)
• External cabling:
  • Aerial (poles and wires)
  • Underground (underground cabling and working in pits)

Restricted Registration: This covers a limited range of cabling work carried out in a domestic or small office environment. If you hold a restricted licence and work on point-to-point data or coaxial cabling, you would need to hold a Broadband endorsement on your licence.

Lift Registration: This requires holding an appropriate electrical licence which authorises operation on any cabling work on lifts. When lift phones are being cut over from a landline to the NBN Optical Network Terminal (ONT), cabling work between the ONT and the MDF requires the services of an Open Registered cabler.

Crossing over to cabling

It’s a fairly straight-forward process for electricians to cross over to cabling if they are looking to work on the NBN rollout or in the telecommunications and security industry more broadly. Education and training acquired during an apprenticeship or on the job means electricians have a head start on becoming a registered cabler.

The chart below shows the competency-based pathways steps taken to become an Open Registered cabler:

Electricians will have completed at least five of the six units required to attain Open Registration through their Australian Certificate III in Electrotechnology Apprenticeship. To obtain Open Registration, an electrician would only have to pick up the additional unit (UEENEEF102A).

To gain additional endorsements that permit you to carry out internal and external cabling work, choose one of the following elective units:

Becoming a registered Open cabler with endorsements allows you to be fully qualified to work as an ACMA accredited cabler on security, telephone, data and computer network wiring. It permits you to install, modify and repair phone and data cables, data points, patch panels and other devices within residential and commercial areas. You will also be able to locate and solve broadband problems including troubleshooting, repairs and fault finding.

A licensed electrician that has completed applicable units, along with completing the ACMA mandated question test through their training provider, can register to be a cabler. A copy of their electrical licence will suffice as proof of experience for cabling.

Electricians who didn’t choose electives relevant to cabling while completing their Certificate III will need to look at completing the Open Registration, Structured Cabling, Coax Cabling and Optical Fibre Cabling training with a registered training organisation (RTO).

Most courses can be completed within 1-2 weeks. Being a licensed electrician means you’ll be eligible to complete the online/e-learning version of the Open Registration course, cutting the duration time to half, which means less time sacrificed off work. All theory components will be completed online with some practical training required in class.

You can also discuss with the training provider options for Recognised for Prior Learning (RPL). This means an assessor can sign off on units without you having to sit the training, more specifically for the endorsements, if sufficient evidence can be produced to support your request. Relevant cabling experience can be derived from installing telecommunications, electrical, data, security alarms, fire alarms and lift cables.

Registering as a cabler

To register as a cabler, you will need to meet the following requirements:

• Provide a copy of your training certificates for Restricted or Open Registration and/or endorsements (if applicable).
• Provide a copy of your electrical licence as proof of experience for Restricted (80 hours of supervised cabling work) or Open (360 hours of supervised cabling work) Registration.

ASIAL provides options for gaining a cabling registration. Visit www.asial.com.au or call 1300 127 425 for more information.

Security licensing

Electricians need to be appropriately licensed to work in the security industry and licensing is usually controlled and applied by state or territory police or by the Department of Fair Trading.

To apply for a security licence, you will need to contact the appropriate regulator for the state in which you intend to hold the licence. To find out if you need a security licence, visit http://www.asial.com.au/resources/security-licensing.

Keep in mind that as a security provider you may also be required to join a security association. ASIAL is Australia’s peak national security industry body, representing around 85% of the security industry in Australia. Visit its membership page for more details.

Tables within this article have been sourced from ACMA.

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