70 / 108
70
E L E CT R I C AL CONNE CT I ON
AUTUMN 2 01 6
South Africa 2016
Sunday 17 April to Thursday 21 April
Setting the agenda
for the next five years...
*HU `V\ HɈVYK UV[ [V IL WHY[ VM [OL KPZJ\ZZPVU&
*OLJR P[ V\[ VU
^^^ ULJH HZU H\
If you are interested in how our industry is changing, you can’t afford to
miss this conference. We have two of Australia’s leading industry experts
sharing their views on how our industry will be transformed over the
next five years. And it’s not just about energy efficiency and renewable
energy sources. The convergence of electrical control via the internet
and traditional wiring is totally changing the landscape for electrical
contractors, and consumers.
The program is now finalised. The excursions and entertainment are a
wonderful taste of what’s on offer in Africa. Plus, we have secured sole-
occupancy of our venue to meet the huge demand from our delegates –
NECA members and non-members. But there are still places available
– if you book now.
A word from the CEO
As 2016 is an election year, this will be
another busy year at NECA. We are
currently reviewing our policies – which you
can find on our website
(www.neca.asn.au),
and we are gearing up to a new round of
discussions with all parties, to be sure our
key industry issues are front-of-mind with
all relevant federal members and senators.
We closed 2015 as usual with our National
Excellence Awards - covered in this update,
and again congratulate all our winners. We
were also pleased to see that the Federal
Government’s
Higher Education Amendment
(VET FEE-HELP Reform) Bill 2015
passed
through the Senate in December with the
support of the Opposition and minor parties.
The new rules, which came into effect on
1 January 2016 provide greater protections
for students and seek to increase the
standards of the VET sector by stamping
out unscrupulous marketing and enrolment
practices.
We also concluded the E-Oz EIAMPS pilot
project. This pilot project was a huge success
and enabled NECA to engage with apprentice
employers and other key stakeholders to
examine the strengths and weaknesses of
the present apprenticeship system in order
to develop future policy. Following these
consultations, our
Employer Engagement
policy has now been formulated and will soon
be ready for industry-wide distribution. The
policy makes a number of recommendations
in relation to competency-based progression,
the training, support and supervision of
apprentices, blended learning models and
the development of an industry-led national
apprenticeship recruitment register.
With our Does it Comply? partner, we have
developed a series of short video clips that
highlight the dangers of purchasing non-
compliant products and the potential liability
that can follow. These are short clips and very
easy to relate to. I hope you will take a moment
to refresh your knowledge on this continuing
issue. These clips are also on our website.
The planning for our industry conference
in South Africa continues to go well. We have
now secured all of our main speakers and will
be promoting the full program as this issue of
Electrical Connection
arrives on your desk.
We have exclusive use of the venue we chose
for this event in Stellenbosch – one of South
Africa’s most spectacular wine regions, and
the numbers are looking great. But there are
still places available.
We are also excited to be welcoming six
winners from the marketing campaign run
by our four principal sponsors: Clipsal by
Schneider Electric, Gerard Lighting, L&H
and NHP. Most of our winners are not NECA
members, so I would like to stress that this
is an industry conference not just a NECA
members’ conference. So we would really like
to see a broad range of electrical contracting
businesses at the conference. For further
information – including the final program and
principal speakers, check our website.
Finally, I’d just like to wish you a very
successful 2016.
Best regards,
Suresh Manickam