Plumbers might get the big bucks — at least anecdotally — but sparkies have been found to be the most trustworthy tradies.
The hipages Tradie Trust Index has found both customers and other tradies rate electricians as the most trustworthy trade.
Pymble-based electrician Michael Harvey said that was because of the trade’s high level of qualifications.
“It’s such a hard trade itself to get in nowadays, because in terms of TAFE qualifications it’s massive now,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.
“There are three years of theory training and four years on the tools and all the tests you have to pass at TAFE — you have to get 65 per cent and above in every single section.”
The survey also found regional areas are more trusting of tradies (57 per cent) compared to suburban (54 per cent) and metro (50 per cent) dwellers. Ladies (57 per cent) are also more trusting than men (48 per cent).
Stuart Tucker, chief customer officer of hipages, said a consumer’s sense of trust is closely tied to response rate and cost, although it doesn’t hurt that sparkies are the most commonly hired tradesmen in the country.
“When hiring an electrician, it’s more often an emergency situation with your local sparky coming to the rescue,” Mr Tucker said.
“Almost 50 per cent of an electrician’s jobs are emergency or ad hoc.”
“The client doesn’t know until it goes ‘bang’,” he said.
However, the survey also revealed two in five Aussies aren’t checking the licences of tradies properly and risking dodgy work done on their homes, despite hiring around seven tradies a year on average.
But simple steps such as requesting to see a licence or examples of work are recommended to all homeowners to ensure tradies are both qualified and suitable for the job.
Mr Tucker advised formalising all details of a job in writing with your tradies before handing over money or starting work.
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