NECA Group

News & Views

22nd July 2020

NECA welcomes Federal and Tasmanian Government Commitment to Electrical Training in Tassie

The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) today welcomed the Federal Government’s $7 million investment into TasTAFE’s new Trades and Water Centre of Excellence, which will expand the State’s capacity for electrical training, a move which NECA has long advocated for.

This brings the total investment for the Centre of Excellence to $21 million, with the Tasmanian Government providing $14 million towards the state-of-the-art facility.

The Centre of Excellence footprint will be increased by over 50% and will include electrotechnology training in a move from the current TasTAFE site at Campbell Street. The site will bring together building and construction, plumbing and water, refrigeration and air conditioning and smart buildings technologies, along with access to upskilling in renewables and hydrogen technologies.

There are currently more than 500 electrotechnology apprentices at TasTAFE and the new site at Clarence will expand capacity and see more tradespeople trained in this key industry.  

Suresh Manickam, CEO of NECA, said:

“This is a great day for young people in Tasmania and the State’s electrical industry.  NECA has been working with Federal and State Government for over two years so we can train more qualified electricians and meet the demands of the Tassie construction sector.  It is wonderful to see our hard work come to fruition.

“With the upgrade, our apprentices are the real winners and they will have the opportunity to learn in a purpose-built world-class facility.  This is critical because the trades are becoming more technically demanding and sophisticated, therefore we need a learning environment that reflects the technical demands of the trades.

“Now more than ever is the right time to be investing in apprenticeships because when the economy starts booming again in a few years, we will be able to pump out qualified tradespeople to match the skills demand in the Tasmanian economy. This should also mean that Tassie won’t need to import skills from the mainland; it’ll be self-sufficient and sustainable.

“We are looking forward now to supporting the Government to get the Centre open and I can’t wait to see it in action!”