Can a Non-Technical Person Legally Work as a Supervisor or Electrician in Electrical Departments?

Hi, all! I am interested to know if a non-technical person can work as a supervisor or electrician in the electrical department. Is it allowed by the government, or is it illegal? Thank you.

In my view, it cannot be allowed by either the government or private channels to appoint a non-technical person for technical work.

Thanks,
Namrata Priya

Technical Roles in India

In India, experienced individuals are working in technical roles such as electricians, operators, and tech supervisors. This is very common across most sectors. I am unsure about its legal standing.

Regards,
Pon

It depends on a wide variety of factors. Please refer to the electricity rules. They provide details of who can do what type of work. It depends on how much power is connected/handled, etc.

There is no illegality in a non-technical person working in a technical area.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

No, Varghese, you are wrong. There are specific requirements of the Electricity Act. There is a list of qualifications that people must have to work in the electrical department. For certain functions, they need to be registered/certified. The supervisors and the electrical heads must be fully and properly trained. In fact, even the contract workers and repair persons need to be qualified in certain functions.

I worked in a company where the maintenance department was headed by a mechanical engineer. We did not face any problems with the Electricity Act or electricity board officials. He was supervising electrical, mechanical, and electronics aspects of maintenance.

Regards,
Varghese Mathew

Looks like the discussion is veering off the main issue raised—what the initiator meant, I think, was about the qualifications of the hands-on persons working—not the Head of the department. Most often, in the hierarchy of an organization, the Head of the Department—call it O&M or Maintenance, etc.—comes from one of the streams—Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, C&I. However, the primary individuals who actually work hands-on will essentially have to be qualified appropriately.

Main Query of the Initiator

Coming to the main query of the initiator, the experience level of the person being referred to [who doesn't seem to have any electrical qualifications] is not mentioned. I have known individuals who, by virtue of vast experience [typically >15/20 years] as an assistant to another qualified person in that function, but with little or bare minimum educational [not technical] qualifications, work in stand-alone or independent positions later on. However, they rarely move above lower supervisory levels—since the topic was about Electrical, that would mean to the level of handling LT rather than any HT equipment.

Regards,
TS

Looks like the discussion is veering off the main issue raised. What the initiator meant, I think, was about the qualifications of the hands-on persons working, not the Head of the department.

Qualifications of Hands-on Personnel

Most often, in the hierarchy of an organization, the Head of the Department—call it O&M or Maintenance, etc.—comes from one of the streams: Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, or C&I. However, the primary persons who actually work hands-on will essentially have to be qualified appropriately.

Experience and Qualifications

Coming to the main query of the initiator, the experience level of the person being referred to (who doesn't seem to have any electrical qualifications) is not mentioned. I have known persons, by virtue of vast experience (typically >15/20 years) as an assistant to another qualified person in that function, but with little or bare minimum educational (not technical) qualifications, working in stand-alone/independent positions later on. But they rarely move above lower supervisory levels—since the topic was of Electrical, that would mean to the level of handling LT rather than any HT equipment.

Licensing and Legal Requirements

Regarding your addition about working as an Electrician, there are exams conducted by the Government through the Electric Inspector's office (PWD), and after passing it, a License is issued. In case of any accident, the first inquiry is whether the electrician has a License or not?

Regards,
TS