Recent Content

Ray from electricianXchange talks to Ron Gall, Electrician, Licensed Electrical Contractor & Trainer working in this industry for the past 40 years. Ron runs his own company now-a-days with his company called Cooee Bay Training. The discussion revolves around energy efficiency and how electricians can be potential champions in this, not only in causing change but also in an area increasingly becoming lucrative for both the consumers and the electricians servicing this need.

Ray, from electricianXchange talks to Steve Blume, President of the Smart Energy Council, Director at the Australian Institute of Energy, Director at the Global Solar Council; among a long trail of achievements along a career running over four plus decades. The discussion revolves around energy efficiency and how electricians at the forefront can be potential champions of this field, not only in causing change but also in an area increasingly becoming lucrative for the consumers and those servicing this increasing need.

Joel Handcock represents the many apprentices who put in 100% towards trying to pursue a career in electro-technology, finding a tough pathway towards being able to do this. Joel started as a maintenance fitter in 2007 and decided he wanted to pursue an electro-technology pathway from an early age, but found the opportunities not forthcoming where he was located in regional Victoria. It took him until 2017, when his company Simplot Australia gave him the green light to move from his now established maintenance fitter tradesman role, to start back as an electrical apprentice where he commenced sweeping floors as most apprentices do in the early stages. In 2019 his TAFE in Bendigo recognised his work by awarding him the Apprentice of the year award putting his name subsequently forward for the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN) award which Joel also won collecting in the process a cheque for $12,000. Joel hopes to use this money to visit Simplot US and learn about automation & PLC programming. Ray talks to Joel on his quest towards his desire to become an electrician and what others could learn if they intend heading down the same path. 

Are you an electrician who feels there is a better product which can be created to make life simpler not just for yourself but for others while at work? But if you spend your spare hours developing a product which benefits not just you but others, why not make it a commercial reality? After all, if its a pain point for you, it must be a pain point for your peers as well? 

But creating a commercial asset out of an idea requires you to protect that asset and a patent / trade mark is one way to protect that asset. 

In this podcast, Ray talks to Sam Park, a patent & trade mark attorney about how to protect ideas which have the potential to be commercialised.

David personifies the Millennial, having moved across multiple careers over the past 14-15 years. He started off as an electrician in  Switzerland in 2007 and is presently an Investment Analyst at a Venture Capital Investment Firm in Melbourne. Along the way, he picked up a Bachelors in Systems Engineering, a Masters degree in Robotics and a PhD in Computer Science. But then they say - it’s not what you start with which is important. It’s what you do with what you start up with which is.

The thing which struck me most about David and his relevance for electricians in general and electricianXchange in particular, was his emphasis that his hands-on experience as an electrician gave him an added lever in all of the roles he subsequently took up. He is someone who has the unique ability to provide guidance to anyone qualified as an electrician wondering what to do next.

To any electrician listening to this podcast - based on David's journey - the world is your oyster.

This podcast discusses Asgar's electrical contracting journey, what made Asgar get into business, the joys & challenges of running a business, how's work been given the COVID-19 situation and any guidance he could provide to other REC's who may be doing it tough in this new environment faced.

If you have already qualified as an A Grade Electrician its not that difficult getting your electrical contracting license. Hear the story of Joseph Sicura, a Victorian based REC on his business journey over a 9 year working period.

Have there been times at work when you've said to yourself - wouldn't it be better if - to a particular pain point, you and others around you have faced?

That pretty much is the start of creativity and innovation - towards something better - a new product or a process which addresses the pain point.

But how many of us take this though and convert that into a new product in our spare time, experiment with it till there is a solution, get a patent for it, determine the broader market for it and then try to earn some money from it? 

We've all got this within us - and here is a way to learn how someone else, in this case Jason Twyman, did it.

Have a listen to this great podcast on an electrician innovator and his journey.

Mental health as it relates to electricians & electrical workers is not discussed as much as it should. It is as serious as any physical health related issues, yet is not getting much acknowledgement. In the UK there is a separate organisation called Electrical Industries Charity which cateres to this very topic as it relates to UK electricians & electrical workers. Is it time something like this was thought about for Australia? 

Floating solar takes advantage of latent water assets - whether it’s for water utilities or for industrial / domestic pool owners. It is a growing sub-segment for solar. Ray, MD electricianXchange interviews Gavin Hodgins, CEO Floatpac Solar on the opportunities this creates.  

This podcast follows a post on electricianXchange's FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/electricianXchange.com.au) on why we should not focus on things we have no control over  (like the economy, jobs potentially being lost) focusing rather on things we have within our control. This podcast gleans through Dean's experience how he is adopting this philosophy as owner of his business.

During COVID19 the Australian government released a set of incentives for employers and individuals economically impacted. This podcast, through an interview of Vu Nguyen, Managing Partner of Chartered Accounting firm Tax Store Brunswick, seeks to explore what it is which is available and how one can get access to this. In addition to the podcast is an on-line tool developed (found at https://www.electricianxchange.com/stimulus-flow-intro which allows you to see what incentive apply to you and how to access this.