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NCEA Level 3 is required to enter tertiary training. Useful subjects include maths with calculus, physics, construction and mechanical technologies, and processing technologies.
To become an electrical engineer you need to have a Bachelor of Engineering with Honours.
Chances of getting a job
Shortage of electrical engineers
Opportunities for electrical engineers are good due to a shortage of workers, and high demand for their services.
Electrical engineer appears on Immigration New Zealand's long-term, and construction and infrastructure skill shortage lists. This means the government is actively encouraging skilled electrical engineers from overseas to work in New Zealand.
According to the Census, 3,576 electrical engineers worked in New Zealand in 2018.
Growing population creates demand for electrical engineers
New Zealand's growing population means demand for electrical engineers is expected to remain strong. They are needed to work on:
new housing developments and substations
upgrades of the the national grid – the high-voltage network that carries electricity around the country.
Types of employers varied
Electrical engineers often work for power supply companies.
They may also work for:
regional lines companies, which carry electricity from the national grid to homes and businesses
Ben Buckley talks about life as a power systems (electrical) engineer – 2.07 mins.
Hi, I'm Ben. I'm a power systems engineer and this is my day in the life video
Up and down the country, New Zealand has a lot of renewable energy sources.
This is in the form of wind farms and hydro dams.
From these wind farms and hydro dams,
the power is moved up and down the country through these huge pylons.
You might have seen them on the side of the road as you're going on a road trip
with massive cables in between them.
These cables end up at substations where they're stepped down in voltage,
and so the electricity is safe to use. We design the substations that step
down the voltage from dangerous levels such as 11 kv upwards,
down to 400 volts. It's quite important to step down the voltage,
otherwise you may die when you turn on your kettle. When we go on site,
there's a lot of hazards around: slips, trips, falls,
and 11 kv and up voltages, which you don't want to touch. For these,
we've got some safety boots, a set of fire retardant overalls. This,
if you ever accidentally catch a zap or something heats up and you touch it,
you do not want to burn. Within these bags, we have safety gloves,
safety glasses. This is one of the designs that I recently completed.
It is a substation out at Coatesville. Our projects, uh,
range all over New Zealand.
Because we are able to do everything we do from our computers,
all we need is one flight down for a site visit and then we can come back and do
the whole design. Back in high school,
I was very much into my maths and sciences, huge on problem solving,
thinking logically.
I had 4 years in university getting a Bachelor of Engineering with a minor
in power engineering and then I stayed behind to do a Master's in Engineering
Management as well. All up,
5 years before starting work. So what excites me about the industry is
really the necessity of them.
You can't have modern cities or modern homes without electricity.
So I like the importance of the work that I do and it gives me great
satisfaction.
Working conditions
Electrical engineers:
usually work regular business hours, but may have to be on call or work irregular hours
usually work in offices, but may also work in laboratories, workshops or on-site at power stations or building sites.
Physical Requirements
Electrical engineers need to have normal colour vision, as electrical components are often colour-coded.
They also need to be reasonably fit as they may have to walk long distances to work sites, and carry equipment.
