The number of recruits taking up apprenticeships with Evoenergy is growing. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
With the ACT moving to net-zero by 2045, local gas and electricity distributor Evoenergy has a lot of work ahead of it – and it’s hoping to grow its workforce by offering “some of the best conditions in the industry”.
Already, the grid has revealed it’s under pressure – the ACT’s electricity demand rose to record levels in June 2025, accompanied by a 20 per cent increase in outages.
Evoenergy attributed this to colder-than-average minimum temperatures, “driven by winter heating, population growth and electrification”, according to a statement.
Suburbs in Gungahlin and the Molonglo Valley – the “fast-growing areas with increasing electricity demand” – were most affected.
“In some cases, ageing assets and the need for additional capacity have also contributed.”
Every year, Evoenergy runs an apprentice recruitment program – and the number of recruits it’s looking to take on each year has more than tripled since COVID.
“We’ve got a lot of work into the future with the net-zero transition and we’re really looking to bring in capability through this pathway, as opposed to straight recruitment for experienced tradespeople,” Evoenergy Capability, Standards and Assurance manager Bronwen Butterfield says.
“We want to make sure we’re building the future for our business.”
In the years prior to COVID, Evoenergy took on two to three apprentices each year, falling to zero in 2023 due to the effects of the pandemic. But since 2024, the number has grown to eight as the new normal.
Accordingly, the company will hire another eight this year – across the three major fields of electrical fitter, line worker and cable jointer.
Not all jobs are for the faint-hearted – or acrophobic. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Apprenticeship consultant Liam Barber is qualified across all three areas, earning his apprenticeship with Endeavour Energy in Sydney more than six years. He moved to Canberra last year to become apprentice trainer with Evoenergy.
“I don’t know if you’ve been up to Sydney lately, but it’s getting pretty busy. And I wanted something a bit nicer, and close to the snow,” he says.
“And if I want to go mountain biking, rock climbing, bushwalking – Canberra’s the place to do it.”
Mr Barber says line workers are the ones you’ll see “breaking the skyline, installing poles and wires, maintaining substations, and installing transformers”, so “definitely a good career for you if you like heights”.
“A cable jointer is the exact opposite,” he says. “Instead of going up into the air, you’re going down in the ground. Your key responsibilities are installing new cables for new subdivisions or suburbs.”
The electrical fitter is more suited to a “problem solver”, as someone tasked with testing and verifying equipment and tracing faults during emergencies.
An apprenticeship in any of the three fields takes four years, but it’s up to applicants to choose which specific area best suits them. Evoenergy will provide all they need for training – and then some.
“This year’s apprenticeship cohort … were attracted to working at Evoenergy probably due to our generous pay and conditions … They’re some of the best conditions in the industry,” Ms Butterfield says.
Apprentices under the age of 21 earn a salary of $42,668, or $1637 plus allowances. Those over the age of 21 are up at $81,230, or $3114 plus allowances.
Both brackets also enjoy a nine-day fortnight, 16 per cent superannuation, free gym membership, and free onsite physiotherapy.
Evoenergy says its working conditions are `some of the best in the industry’. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Needless to say, the retention rate is impressive too.
“We have people in this business who have been here for 50 years,” Ms Butterfield says.
“It’s a really great company in terms of longevity of career, compared to other operators around the country.”
The number of females applying is on the rise too and Evoenergy is “definitely excited to take on more”.
“It’s a very diverse workforce and you can pull experience from very mature tradespeople,” Mr Barber says.
“These are people who have been in the industry for 30 to 40 years, so they’re literally masters of their trade. You get one-on-one learning experience with them where you can get that knowledge and, in that four years, advance on what a normal apprentice would be.”
Visit Evoenergy for more information on how to apply.
