This is the first question worth answering, because it's where most generalist recruiters get it wrong.
A commercial electrician works in buildings — offices, retail, hospitals, hotels. Their world is lighting circuits, power distribution boards, air conditioning systems, and fire alarm wiring. The environment is relatively controlled. The risks are real but manageable.
An industrial electrician works in plants. Their environment is a food processing facility running three shifts, a mining operation in a remote location, a water treatment plant, or an automotive manufacturing line where a single unplanned shutdown costs thousands of dollars per hour.
The technical demands are different. The stakes are different. The candidate pool is different.
The core of the role is keeping plant and production equipment running. That breaks down into a few distinct areas:
Preventive maintenance — Scheduled work carried out to a maintenance plan. Inspecting motors, checking thermal images of switchboards, testing protection relays, replacing worn components before they fail. This is the work that prevents unplanned downtime.
Reactive maintenance (breakdown work) — When something goes down unexpectedly, the industrial electrician is the person who finds the fault and gets it back online. Speed matters here. The ability to diagnose under pressure is a core competency.
Switchboard and distribution work — Industrial facilities run on medium and low voltage switchgear, motor control centres (MCCs), and variable speed drives (VSDs). Industrial electricians need to be comfortable working on and around this equipment, often live-adjacent, with strict isolation procedures.
Motor and drive maintenance — Large AC and DC motors, VSD commissioning and fault finding, soft starters. This is the bread and butter of industrial electrical work in manufacturing and process environments.
Instrumentation support — Not always in scope, but in many sites industrial electricians work alongside I&C technicians and need at least a working understanding of sensors, transmitters, and field devices connected to process control systems.
In South Australia, industrial electricians hold an A-Class electrical licence issued by Consumer and Business Services (CBS). This is the standard licence for licensed electrical work across the state.
Beyond the A-Class licence, employers often look for:
Working at Heights — Required on most industrial sites where elevated work platforms or ladders are used.
Confined Space Entry — Common in water treatment, mining, and food processing environments.
Dogging/Rigging — For sites where electrical equipment needs to be lifted and positioned.
First Aid / CPR — Standard requirement across most industrial operators.
Site-specific inductions — Mining sites, chemical plants, and major manufacturing facilities have their own competency and induction requirements on top of trade licences.
Salary varies significantly based on sector, shift pattern, and location. Here's a realistic picture of the market:
South Australia (Adelaide metro — manufacturing/food/beverage):
Base salary: $100,000 – $115,000 + super
With shift penalties and overtime: $120,000 – $150,000 total package
Mining and resources (FIFO/regional):
Total package: $130,000 – $160,000+
Higher rates reflect remote location, extended rosters, and site conditions
Utilities and infrastructure:
Base salary: $100,000 – $130,000 + super
Often includes penalty rates and standby allowances
Day-rate contract roles (outside these ranges) typically run $550 – $750/day depending on the site and the candidate's specialist skills.
When an operations manager or maintenance engineer calls Zionic looking for an industrial electrician, here's what they're really asking for — beyond the job description:
Someone who can work independently. Industrial sites don't have time to hand-hold. They want a candidate who reads the drawings, finds the fault, and gets the equipment back online without needing constant supervision.
Fault-finding under pressure. This comes up in every brief. The ability to systematically diagnose a fault on a production line — while the production manager is standing behind you — is what separates good industrial electricians from great ones.
Switchboard and MCC experience. Specifically: comfort working on motor control centres, reading single-line diagrams, and understanding protection schemes. Candidates who have only worked on building services often struggle here.
A-Class licence, clean safety record. Non-negotiable. Most industrial sites will also check references specifically for safety behaviour, not just technical competence.
Reliability. Maintenance operations are built around planned rosters. An electrician who shows up, completes the work, and communicates clearly when something unexpected comes up is genuinely valuable. It sounds basic — but it's what clients tell us they struggle to find.
If you're a commercial electrician thinking about making the move into industrial, the honest answer is: it depends on what you want from the work.
Industrial electrical work offers better base rates, more technical depth, and genuine variety. You'll work on equipment that matters — production lines, process systems, critical infrastructure. You'll develop fault-finding skills that make you significantly more valuable over time.
The trade-off is that the environment is more demanding. Shift work is common. Some sites run 24/7 operations. The work is less predictable than a building services role.
For electricians who want to develop technically and get paid well to do it — industrial is a strong move.
Zionic recruits industrial electricians across manufacturing, food and beverage, utilities, and process industries in South Australia and nationally. We work with candidates who aren't actively looking — so if you're considering a move, register with us now and we'll be in touch when the right role comes up.
For employers looking to hire: we deliver shortlists of verified, licence-checked industrial electricians within 5 business days. Submit a vacancy brief here.
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