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Institute of Advanced Technological and Commercial Studies

Careers

Industrial electrician

Cabinets, motors, drives, distribution networks: the industrial electrician keeps the site's energy running. They wire, label, test and commission — and they diagnose a fault where others see a machine that refuses to start.

The job, day to day

A typical morning starts with a schematic: find the relevant feeder, understand the control logic, prepare the hardware. Then comes the wiring, precise and labelled, followed by point-by-point testing before energising. Afternoons often belong to diagnosis: measure rather than assume, work back from sensor to actuator, isolate the fault. Every job ends with the same requirement — record it, label it, leave an installation the next person can read.

  • Read single-line and detailed schematics, prepare an intervention
  • Wire a cabinet, label conductors, run the tests
  • Set up a starter or a variable speed drive on an induction motor
  • Measure, trace a fault, apply lockout and report in writing

Three families of employers

Processing industry

Every plant runs its own electrical workshop. The role covers low-voltage distribution, line motors and first-level automation.

Installation companies

Switchboards, industrial lighting, generator sets, site connections: the work is done in teams, on sites that change every month.

Energy and networks

Generation, transmission, delivery substations, solar installations: a sector being built across the region, looking for trained profiles.

The programme at a glance

Everything below is on the record: these figures appear in the filed catalogue and serve as the reference for equivalence requests, employer funding or submissions to an administration. They are given before enrolment because that is when they are useful, and because a commitment is read before it is signed.

Skilled employee and operative

qualification level
4
months of programme
12

Led by an instructor.

taught hours
800 h

1 credit = 25 h of work, 10 of them taught.

credits
80

Framework of the « Industrial Electrician » qualification, code TP03.

competency blocks
5

What you work on, in order

The sequence follows the logic of the job: fundamentals first, then what builds on them, then real situations. Each step carries its own taught hours, which lets you plan the pace week by week rather than discover the workload along the way.

Competency blockWhat it coversTaught hours
Industrial electricity fundamentalsEarthing systems, protection, sizing, schematics200 h
Wiring and cabinetsReading schematics, wiring, labelling, testing, commissioning220 h
Motors and variable speed drivesAsynchronous motors, starters, drives, settings180 h
Diagnosis and electrical authorisationMeasurement, fault finding, lockout, electrical authorisation140 h
Professional conductIntervention reports, working with internal clients60 h

The route into industrial electrical work

Every row in this table comes from the official catalogue: title, duration, credits, taught hours and yearly or one-off fees. Nothing is rounded and nothing is hand-entered. This is the table you take to an employer to request funding, or to an adviser to weigh your options.

ProgrammeDurationCreditsTaught hoursFees
Industrial Maintenance and Energy · Bachelor's degree2 years1201200 h5 400 000 GNF per year
Certificate in Industrial Site Safety Management · Professional certification6 months18180 h3 800 000 GNF in total

Three questions, three precise answers

Is electrical authorisation included?

The framework devotes a block to diagnosis and authorisation: earthing systems, lockout, measurement, correct conduct. The programme prepares the practice and the vocabulary the employer will validate when issuing the authorisation specific to their installation.

Does this lead into automation?

That is the most common trajectory. The senior automation and instrumentation technician qualification, at level 5, adds programmable controllers, supervision and control loops to an already solid electrical base.

Industrial electrician — Careers | IHETC — IHETC