The role of the electrician is changing as the technology around us continues to grow. Sean Carroll looks at proposed changes to the definition of a ‘sparkie’.

The Australian digital economy is transforming as our homes, offices and shops become more and more connected. New technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), smart homes, 5G networks and advances in areas like Power over Ethernet (PoE) and fibre networks have changed the way we go about our day-to-day lives.

These technologies are making our lives easier, but there’s also a greater awareness of cybersecurity and its concerns and the ability to build on occupational health and safety areas.

Because of this, there’s an industry demand to upskill technical workers to help install this technology, and the humble electrician is perfectly placed to fill this need.

With upskilling, a range of new training programs and a reimagining of the role of the electrician, the industry is primed to grow with these booming technologies while also reaping the financial benefits of offering a greater service.

But how’s it going to happen?

Stephen Elston and Gabriele Giofre co-authored a discussion paper for the Australian Digital & Telecommunications Industry Association (ADTIA), called the Integrated Digital Technician. It aims to start a conversation about the role of the electrician, garner industry insights into what would potentially be needed for the role and land on skill requirements and suggested pathways for the future of the electrical worker.

“We’ve got most of our industries trained to a reasonable level, which is an open registration that enables them to work on customer’s premises,” Gabriele says.

“The Integrated Digital Technician paper is about looking at what’s missing. What additional skills do our workers need to connect people to the digital network and what does it look like? From there, it’s about finding ways to upskill the industry to a level where they can go in and connect customers digitally.”

If an electrician is coming to a property to install lights, then it’s a straightforward job. If the customer wants to control the lights through their smart device or through a wired smart home hub, then they might not be the right person for the task.

If that customer also wants a hard-wired smart doorbell, wants to ensure WiFi signals reach the entire household or even add some audio-visual capabilities, an electrician isn’t the right person for the job without some upskilling.

From a financial point of view, a simple lighting installation grows with the imagination of the end user. You won’t be hitting a wall when every light is fitted out, you’ll be able to show off the latest and greatest in smart home technology and upsell throughout every room.

But none of that can happen without change.

The cornerstone of the discussion paper is “skills agility”, addressing the skills gap for mid and higher-level technical skills occurring due to the blurring of lines between the electrical and IT industries.

The paper hopes to get government support when the Integrated Digital Technician becomes a reality. This support ensures the industry can meet and overcome digital and telecommunications challenges both now and in the future.

The industry association CITT and ADTIA are presenting a cadetship model for this new role. This model would also offer technical qualifications, skill sets and micro-credentials that can work alongside the traditional apprenticeship and traineeship qualification programs.

This is all just a suggestion now, and the discussion paper is exactly that, a discussion.

“It’s very flexible and I had to resist the urge of asking ‘what do you think?’ at the end of every paragraph,” Stephen explains.

“We desperately need to understand what each individual enterprise and the industry are saying. It doesn’t matter if it’s the electrical industry, the telco industry or anything else, it doesn’t matter, we’re just trying to figure out what’s needed.”

He adds that with the advent of IoT, among other things, the household is becoming much more connected. Many people are introducing smart connectivity across the home, such as a smart doorbell, a central hub that connects to temperature sensors and media, a smart fridge, and so on.

While looking into the role of an Integrated Digital Technician, Stephen spoke to some of the bigger players in the industry, but they declined to contribute to the discussion paper.

“I’ve spoken to Telstra briefly, but they weren’t interested because they’re more than happy to stop at the network boundaries,” he says.

“Look at Standards Australia. I think the standards are written extremely well for what they represent, and I’m not putting them down, but we need to have a major push towards this new technology because it’s here now, not just in the future.”

Stephen and ADTIA took it upon themselves to start the conversation, writing the paper and investigating what the industry needs.

CEDIA is the global industry association and central touch point for smart home technology. It does a lot of work in developing certification programs for residential systems integrators and it has identified workforce development as a significant challenge for the industry, an issue that has only been amplified by the pandemic.

“The shortage of skilled professionals is a pressing concern for the industry. In Australia alone, there are an estimated 850 full-time home technology integrators and at least half of them are actively looking for staff,” CEDIA Australia and New Zealand regional development independent consultant Paul Skelton says.

“To address this issue, CEDIA has launched the NextGen Toolkit, which provides integrators with the necessary tools to engage with education providers in their communities. Additionally, efforts are underway to expand the CEDIA certification program throughout Australia and New Zealand in partnership with TAFEs and registered training organisations.”

One of those partnerships is with a leading TAFE in Melbourne, Victoria, which is currently putting 12 electrotechnology students through the CEDIA Cabling & Infrastructure Technician (CIT) certification pathway.

“Other TAFEs and registered training organisations looking to expand into the smart home technology sector are encouraged to collaborate with CEDIA, which already has a program developed that can be tailored to meet their specific needs.”

“The CIT certification is the bare minimum for any individual seeking to undertake smart home technology projects. Accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) as having met the ISO/IEC 17024 standard, it’s the ideal starting point for anyone seeking to pursue a career in installing and integrating technology systems across various settings.”

Having universal standards for this part of the industry would make it much easier for electricians to sell their services and start conversations with clients.

Stephen mentions a friend of his who has an electrical business on the Gold Coast. The company does a lot of NBN cable work but he’s also doing domestic and commercial electrical jobs on the side. This business owner has been training his own people to the equipment manufacturer’s guidelines, but he’d love to get some certifications.

For his current work, everything’s going fine, but if he wants to introduce a lot of smart technology capabilities to a commercial environment, he’s going to need some credentials for his team.

“It might be wireless or hard-wired, but you need to be able to provide the capability for design, the proof of concept and the ability to maintain throughout the product’s life,” Stephen says.

“These are the things that electricians really need to get their hands on, especially in the situations where a wireless solution just won’t cut it.”

This wouldn’t be a problem with the Integrated Digital Technician course. According to the discussion paper, an electrician would need skills to install and maintain services akin to:

• Installation of commercial and industrial communication systems
  • Telephony and data
  • Robotic systems
  • Security systems
• Wireless connectivity
  • Installation and setup of wireless modems and routers
  • Design, install and rectify faults of wireless range extenders
  • Provide advice, training and assistance to customers on their communications systems
• PoE and Remote Power Feeding Telecommunication Circuit (RPFT) including ES1, ES2 and ES3 circuits
• Installation and maintenance of IoT devices, including, but not limited to devices used to gather and interpret data and take appropriate and or programmed actions including:
  • Weather station, industrial, agricultural and aquacultural devices
  • Domestic devices
  • Security devices

The scope is broad and that’s intentional by the authors. With industry discussion and some major changes following the discussion paper, we’ll see if the Integrated Digital Technician pathway can take off.

“While the Integrated Digital Technician proposal is a step in the right direction, further collaboration between industry stakeholders is necessary to achieve its full potential. For electrotechnology professionals, the CIT certification should be considered the foundation for any smart home technology project, and efforts should be made to expand its reach,” Paul says.

“It is worth noting that in the past, other groups have attempted to create their own content in the smart home space without engaging with the sector. However, all these programs have failed to gain traction, as they lacked the expertise and insights of qualified smart home technology integrators. This underscores the importance of collaborating with established industry bodies like CEDIA, who can provide the necessary knowledge and resources to ensure that workforce development programs are effective and meet the evolving needs of the sector.”

The discussion paper ends with a brief pathway of where the new role would fit. The authors propose that it slides in after the open registered cabler, ensuring electricians enter the workforce with the same core knowledge but build on top of it to suit an ever-changing environment.

While still a projection, it issues a warning to the electrical industry. The industry is changing and by standing still, not only will sparkies miss out on the financial benefits, but they might also miss the chance to stay current.

“We have a very closed view of what we see as an electrician,” Stephen says.

“But if that becomes a technician, we can look at it from a domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural point of view. The technology is there to boost these different aspects, but we just need somebody to tie it all together.”