The entire Australian economy is driven by the reliable supply of electricity. While our nation has prospered from our highly skilled electrical contractors, an increasing convergence of trends looks likely to fundamentally change how our industry operates.
As a range of new energy services and related technologies are introduced over the next decade, these emerging trends will most likely reshape core elements of the electricity workforce as a whole. This shift in occupational categories and new skills required could even be on a similar scale as the transition of labour from agriculture to the industrial age at the turn of last century.
Because we are likely heading towards fundamental transformations in how we provide our service, this isn’t the time to simply wait around for these changes to happen. To really be prepared for what’s coming, we first need to understand it. So, what will the future of electrical contractors look like? Here are our tips.
Change Your Thinking
The connected nature of emerging technologies with smart interconnected capabilities will see the requirement for system thinking skills to increase. This mindset of systems’ thinking is set to become increasingly required by electrical contractors to ensure that smart tech is installed and configured correctly, as well as efficient fault finding and other maintenance. Depending on their knowledge, electrical contractors may also become the liaison between the consumer and the technology manufacturers and networks. Keep an open mind.
Invest In Upskilling Workers
Between now and 2030, new and existing staff will require ongoing upskilling, training, and development to accommodate the adoption of all emerging technologies as well as the complexity of installing them. The investment process for these skills will need to be adaptive overall. In fact, many electrical contractors have already begun expanding their range of services to meet the expected influx of residential smart systems. Take our company Power 4 All for example, we have diversified into smart systems involving telecommunications, security, solar, and as a result, have a consistent flow of business even when other Albany, WA electricians struggle in the current difficult climate. Invest in the future and ensure you have practices in place to help your workers adapt.
Prepare For Specialist Roles
These emerging technologies will create brand new skill sets, as well as new specialist occupations that do not currently exist anywhere within the industry. The creation of these new specialist roles will require workers who are both multi-skilled, as they will inevitably be required to operate and analyse the full suite of new digitalised technologies. Then as these specialist occupations become increasingly pivotal to the energy industry, they will play an increasingly important part within workforce. You need to ensure you are prepared for this.
Take Care Of Your Employees
This does not mean traditional skill sets necessarily become redundant. In fact, the more experienced the worker is, the harder they are to replace because they have decades of knowledge which proves invaluable to customers and employers. Continuity of these skills and the investment in emerging proficiencies are both essential in ensuring that skill gaps in your workforce do not occur. Take care of your current team members so that they are more likely to stay with you in the long-term.
So, while it’s critical that tradespeople employed in the future have the ability and desire for lifelong learning, it’s just as important to ensure that senior technicians have the chance to hand down their knowledge to younger trainees and apprentices.
Bio: Post written by Power 4 All Electrical, a trusted electrician based in Albany WA. For more information on our services and initiatives, follow this URL: https://www.power4allelectrical.com.au/.
