The new Licensed Electrical Inspectors (LEIs) Assessment facility at Future Energy Skills is due to open in July.
LEIs play a crucial role in certifying the safety of prescribed electrical installations, before the installations are connected to the grid.
Their role is supplemented by Energy Safe Victoria’s (ESV) role in handling community issues relating to electrical installation work and carrying out investigations and prosecutions.
ESV also responds to electrical installation incidents involving injury or death, or damage to property. There are approx. 420 LEIs in Victoria, although only 150 of these are estimated to be working full time as an inspector. The other registered LEIs likely work full time as LEWs (Licensed Electrical Workers) or RECs (Registered Electrical Contractors) and take on LEIs jobs on an ad hoc basis. Most LEIs are single person operations except for two large LEI businesses – Electrical Inspectors Victoria (EIV) and Techsafe.
ESV anticpates that 150 new inspectors are required in the next 5 years to meet the projected demand. Given the current small pipeline of new LEIs, our research suggests that there is likely going to be a shortage of inspectors- largely due to the ageing workforce.
Through significant consultation with industry stakeholders, ESV and Future Energy Skills are working hard to prepare a new LEI assessment facility that ensures candidates continue to be assessed against the critical capabilities expected of an Inspector, within conditions inclusive of emerging technologies. The installations our future inspectors will be expected to certify will entail a much broader range of technologies than those of the past.
For further information on LEI Assessment or to make a booking for July onwards, please visit https://futureenergyskills.com.au/lei/
