The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) announced the winners of the inaugural Trade Teacher Awards for 2007 in the Electrical and Communications categories, at the NECA Awards of Excellence event held last week.

RMIT University in Melbourne has recently reorganised its Electrotechnology Trade Division with new management, dedicated teaching staff and an administrative support team.

A committee has been established to investigate models for a renewable energy feed-in tariff for the ACT.

ACT apprentices are happy with their choice of apprenticeship, according to a survey released by the Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr.

Noja Power Switchgear is a national finalist in the small to medium manufacturer category of the 2007 Australian Export Awards after winning its state-based award.

A dodgy electrical worker was fined over $128,000 recently, in a decision NSW Fair Trading Minister, Linda Burney said was a warning to all contractors about the requirement to hold a valid licence.

The national peak body representing employers of apprentices and trainees, Group Training Australia (GTA), recently released an election statement, calling on the federal government to increase its investment in the Joint Group Training Program (JGPT) to $100 million and be matched dollar for dollar by all state and territory governments.

Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) is calling for expressions of interest from licensed electrical inspectors to act as contracted electrical audit inspectors.

According to Dutch researcher Jos Meeuwsen from Technical University Eindhoven, in the future people connected to the electricity grid will be able to upload and download packages of electricity to and from this network. At least, that is one of the transformations the electricity grid could undergo. Meeuwsen developed three scenarios for the Dutch electricity supply in the year 2050. The starting point is that in 2007, 50% of consumption will originate from sustainable sources.

Members of the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (AEEMA) have approved a motion to consolidate its operations with one of the nation’s largest and most influential industry associations, the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group).

An engineer from Korea is seeking Australian and international distributors for his solar-powered mobile device rechargers, which he expects will change the way we use mobile devices.

The ACT government has allowed ActewAGL to lease a block of land in Hume for the development of a gas-fired power station and secure data centre.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has recently redesigned its internet website to better reflect its role as Australia's regulator for broadcasting, internet, radiocommunications and telecommunications.

The ACT has experienced a 165% increase in apprenticeship and traineeship completions and a 125% increase in the number of apprentices and trainees in training over the last decade, according to the Minister for Education and Training, Andrew Barr.

According to Property Council of Australia, the seasonally adjusted figures for Australia’s national construction industry rose 6.8 points to 55.2 — above the 50.0 point level separating expansion from contraction.