WA BRANCH UPDATE

WA BRANCH

WA BRANCH

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BRANCH UPDATE BRANCH UPDATE

Carl Copeland Carl Copeland

NECA WA Branch Secretary NECA WA Branch Secretary

Members in this sector expect a considerable increase in work in the near future. The strong prices for gold and iron ore in particular have ensured that members working in the resource sector are also enjoying strong demand for electrical work. NECA Technical is taking as many, if not more, calls than it was before COVID, which indicates there are still lots of members performing work. There is obviously still a long way to go in terms of a full recovery but it does seem that Western Australia is better placed than other states at present.

Industrial Manslaughter Legislation

Sometimes there are critical pieces of legislation that industry has to fight tooth and nail to prevent; the Western Australian Government’s proposed industrial manslaughter legislation is such a law. It is vital that all contractors familiarise themselves with this legislation because it will criminalise workplace accidents. The Government’s proposed industrial manslaughter law exposes business owners to up to 10 years in jail and a $2.5million fine if an accident occurs on your worksite – even if you haven’t been reckless or negligent. It is vital that members understand the risks they could face under the worst parts (e.g. Section 30B) of the Western Australian Government’s proposed Workplace Health & Safety Bill. Section 30B is unique to WA. It is not found in any other state or territory.

ALTHOUGH MARKET CONDITIONS REMAIN DIFFICULT, IT IS PLEASING TO HEAR FROM MEMBERS IN THE RESIDENTIAL SECTOR THAT THE COVID-19 update VARIOUS GOVERNMENT STIMULUS PACKAGES AIMED AT INCREASING COViD-19 continues to be a major topic THE CONSTRUCTION OF NEW HOMES IS HAVING A POSITIVE EFFECT. throughout society and the electrical industry, particularly in WA where the border was recently lifted. We will continue to communicate important updates via our email communications NECA has met with the Minister for Industrial - make sure you and your staff have Relations, Bill Johnston, and personally opted in to receive eAlert and eNews expressed our concerns to him. We were communications in the Member Area or email marketing@necawa.asn.au if you are unsure. We will also continue particularly adamant that the legislation must contain defences that protect contractors whose safety practices meet the legislative requirements. to post information that is particularly relevant to electrical businesses It is ridiculous to have a situation where on the NECA WA Facebook page a business owner has implemented (www.facebook.com/necawachapter) and the COViD-19 Updates page on the NECA WA Member Area. please contact safety practices that ensure compliance with all of their WHS obligations and yet can still be subjected to prosecution. our office on (08) 6241 6100 if you have NECA has lobbied the McGowan any queries about the current regulations government, as well as the Liberal and how they impact on your business. Opposition and cross-bench members of Parliament, as part of a coalition of more than twenty other industry associations Event update who also oppose this legislation. NECA WA’s highly popular industry Nights I encourage every Western Australian program for 2022 has commenced. This business owner and director to read the year we will visit more than 20 locations joint submission to government that around the state to discuss important issues in the industry, accompanied by representatives from Western power, NECA WA has made along with the other industry associations. The submission, which is on NECA WA’s website, is more than 20 pages long but it is critical Horizon power and Building and Energy. that you understand the potential The NECA Awards have also opened for 2022. We are thrilled to introduce the implications for you, your business, your co-workers and your family. NECA Small Business Awards, an awards Members can be assured that NECA WA program designed to acknowledge will continue to fiercely oppose this small businesses who are making an legislation in its current form. impact in our industry. Over ninety percent of NECA WA‘s members are Security of Payments Legislation small businesses, so we encourage The State Government has also recently as many members as possible to released its long-awaited draft Security consider showcasing their best work of Payments legislation. This is vital to the rest of the industry in 2022. legislation for NECA members and for subcontractors in general. Visit the NECA WA Member Area to find out more and register for our events.

Automatic mutual recognition

The WA Government has agreed to delay the implementation of the national automatic mutual recognition (AMr) arrangements. This will provide industry with more time to address concerns regarding the different licence requirements across Australia.

Electrical Group Training (EGT) update

December is always a busy time for EGT with many apprentices eager to finish prior to Christmas so they can start the next year as fresh tradespeople with new employers. Consequently, our overall number of apprentices reduces in January and February. At the end of March, we hope to have employed a total of 123 new apprentices since the beginning of the current financial year, bringing our overall number to 500. We expect that numbers will continue to increase throughout the year with 550 apprentices in training by December. We remain focused on quality while trying to meet industry demand, so if you know someone who would make a great apprentice, but you cannot commit to the full four years, send them to our website - www.egt.net.au

Vale Dennis Han

WA’s electrical industry recently lost one of its true gentlemen with the passing of Dennis Han. Dennis was a highly-valued and respected staff member at Mizco for over 30 years, and a friend to many people throughout the industry.

Certification of direct current (DC) isolators

The announcement late last year requiring all DC isolators to be certified to the new inverter standard by 18 December 2021 resulted in confusion in the industry, largely due to there being no fully certified inverters available. As a result, NECA WA successfully lobbied Building and Energy to grant industry an extension to 30 June 2022.

NECA WA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NECA Apprentice Award Submissions Close

 Friday, 1 April 2022

NECA Industry Night, Albany

 Master Builders Association Albany  Thursday, 7 April 2022  4.30pm – 6.30pm

NECA Industry Night, Northam

 Northam Country Club  Thursay, 5 May 2022  4.30pm – 6.30pm

College of Electrical Training (CET) update

As time was called on 2021, CET ended the year with over 1,900 apprentices in training. Mid-February, this number swelled to over 1,970 apprentices, a massive 38.5% increase in apprentice numbers since July 2020. incentives and fiscal stimulus measures have had the desired impact.

What does this mean for the electrotechnology industry? With commencements in 2017-19 historically low, this historic high will go some way to addressing trade shortages in WA. However, if the pandemic has shown us one thing, five-year plans can go through a lot of amendments in a short period of time. We wait and see.

What is encouraging, is that the cohort of 2021/22 are the first in WA to move into the new UEE30820 training package. The new look and feel of the units will go a long way to addressing some of the complaints about the lack of cohesion in the UEE30811 package.

recently, CET worked with CNW Balcatta and the Swan Trade Training Centre (STTC), to design and build test boards for apprentices to sharpen their skills. STTC and CET have worked together for many years, with the pre-apprenticeship in schools program at STTC being a very popular choice for aspiring electricians. After an inquiry from ryan at CNW and a bit of brainstorming and dusting off the archives at CET, the staff and students at STTC came up with a high-quality training rig that ryan was able to offer to industry. if they say it takes a village to raise a child, it takes an industry to train an apprentice. Kudos to ryan and his fantastic team at CNW Balcatta, as well as the hard-working crew at Swan Trade Training Centre. A big nod also to the employers who put their hand up to buy one – the investment in your apprentices is appreciated.

CET also recently purchased a block of land across the road from the Joondalup campus, with plans to develop an industry innovation Centre. We hope that construction will commence in 2023.

Matt King (left) with the electrical test board

NECA Excellence Awards Submissions Close

 Wednesday, 18 May 2022

NECA Industry Night, Busselton

 Esplanade Hotel  Thursday, 19 May 2022  4.30pm – 6.30pm

NECA Industry Night, Perth Metro

 Cockburn Bowling and recreational Club  Thursday, 16 June 2022  4.30pm – 6.30pm

ECA WA is expanding

ECA WA recently purchased the wellknown training company, Equip-Safe. Many members will have used Equip-Safe to undertake High risk Training. Apart from a re-brand and a change of location to Welshpool, it will be business as usual for anyone undertaking training with Equip-Safe. We are pleased to increase the range of courses that ECA WA is able to offer members and the wider industry.

APPRENTICESHIPS

A SPRINGBOARD INTO ENGINEERING

ApprENTiCESHipS ArE A prOVEN EDUCATiON AND EMplOYMENT MODEl. THEY prOViDE prACTiCAl WOrKplACE SKillS AND CrEATE HiGHlY EMplOYABlE TrADESpEOplE. FOr TOM ENSTON, OWNEr OF ElECTriCAl SYSTEMS ENGiNEEriNG, COMplETiNG HiS ElECTriCAl ApprENTiCESHip WAS AlSO THE SpriNGBOArD iNTO A SUCCESSFUl ENGiNEEriNG CArEEr.

We were pleased to interview Tom, who shared his experience of combining the two qualifications and the opportunities that opened up for him.

How did your Electrical Group Training (EGT) apprenticeship lead you into engineering?

i’d always had an interest in engineering. i’d worked on commercial and domestic projects, then in my final year, had the chance to work directly with an engineering consultancy learning design and drafting work. i felt very lucky, as this wasn’t the typical apprenticeship placement, and it wouldn’t have been possible if i hadn’t been with EGT. After my apprenticeship, i went on to complete an engineering degree in electrical power. i’d always had the idea of going to university and my engineering placement made it a seamless transition. My success has come from combining the two qualifications. The engineering degree gave me lots of theory and knowledge, but my apprenticeship gave me the platform to hang that knowledge on. it gave me practical experience, an understanding of how things are installed, and the confidence to make decisions. i’m a better engineer because of my apprenticeship.

And now you’re an EGT host employer.

My cousin is in his fourth year, but we don’t employ him directly. When he was applying, i suggested he go through EGT as i felt the exposure to different sectors would be beneficial and give him a better base for his apprenticeship. After he spent a couple of years moving through different placements, we became a host employer and took him on. This has been easier for our business. As a host employer, i don’t have to deal with anything other than paying the weekly invoice. it’s not a huge cost considering the service that’s provided.

What are you working on?

Now i run my own business, Electrical Systems Engineering. We provide smart hardware and software solutions for renewable energy systems, mining and agriculture, manufacturing, water treatment and distribution.

When establishing the business, one of the turning points was our work with a tier three mining client. We built a few skids for them as a trial and provided a cost effective, fit-forpurpose solution. The business took off from there – we keep delivering for our clients and they keep coming back.

We work on small projects such as simple control panels, right through to variable

rate irrigation systems for the agricultural industry. right now, we’re working on a chemical dosing system, which will enable farmers to accurately track their chemical use and ultimately save them money. We do the entire process from the design through to building the panel and skids, programming and then providing post-installation support.

We end up with a lot of complicated jobs that other contractors don’t want to do. We sometimes joke that if a project has a tight budget, is difficult and carries lots of risk, then it’s the perfect job for us. The work is unique and very rewarding.

Are there any contracting lessons you’ve learned that you’d like to share?

Be thorough in the early stages of projects, especially with the design and component selection. Each time we haven’t paid enough attention in the early phases, it has really cost us at implementation. Now we invest the time to get it right early on, which makes a huge difference at the installation stage and ensures our jobs are profitable and run smoothly.

Do you have any final thoughts?

Some of my greatest learning came when i’d finished my apprenticeship and started contracting. As an apprentice, i often challenged the way things were done, but at that point, the buck didn’t stop with me. it wasn’t until i was working for myself, and had to take on that responsibility, that i really understood the bigger picture. These days i tell my team to take the time to listen and learn as much as they can. No matter how much you think you know, there are always more skills and knowledge to learn.

TRAINING 6,000+ PEOPLE EVERY YEAR

> Popular courses on offer include electrical pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships and post trade courses > State-of-the-art training facilities with purpose-built classrooms and workshops > Highly skilled instructors with hands-on industry experience > Respected and recommended by WA’s electrical industry > Blended learning – mixture of online and face-to-face delivery > Flexible course options