ECA(SA)’s Cape Town region held its first branch meeting of the year on Tuesday 12 March 2024. Attendance was high, with over 60 members enjoying a light dinner and drinks, coupled with essential industry and association news, as well as a technical session on neutral earth bonding.
ECA(SA) is grateful to Voltex, Major-Tech, BEKA-Schreder, Swan Elet4rf, Pioled, Daylight and Hellerman-Tyton for their loyal sponsorship and generosity. Branch meetings are an integral part of the business year, bringing together representatives, members and supporters of electrical contracting, as Regional Director Darryl Whitaker pointed out in his introduction.
Big changes on horizon
Newly elected ECA(SA) President, Frans Swanepoel, launched the meeting, urging members to involve themselves in the association’s functioning and to keep familiar with all the services that association provides its members: “The ECA(SA) exists to be of service to you,” Frans began, “and I want to stress how important it is that you become involved in the association. One of the most valuable things a member can do is attend committee meeting or two and consider the value of the skills and experience you can share with other members.”
Frans went on to emphasise the importance of the upcoming expiry of legacy qualifications, come June this year. “For those currently engaged in any legacy courses, you have until June this year to complete them, and the qualification itself will remain relevant until 2027, he noted.
The ECA’s Solar Technician Qualification
Andre Wagener, currently conducting technical training workshops in Cape Town, is one of ECA’s highly regarded technical trainers, with a wealth of qualified experience behind a highly studied career, highlighted ECA(SA)’s Solar Technician Qualification, with its four exit points, and emphasised ECA’s drive to provide QCTO accredited courses – long and short – noting that the introduction of the new qualifications will include a steep learning curve of its own. He followed that with a technical presentation on Neutral Earth Bonding (read the material here).
Cape Town Regional Director Darryl Whitaker announced the appointment Griffin Nacken as its new technical officer and noted that the branch finances show are in very good shape. The development of the branch’s training centre continues and following on the heels of the QCTO’s accreditation of Highveld Training Centre’s Solar School, Cape Town’s Solar School is on track for accreditation in this first half of 2024.
Branch meetings like this one deliver an injection of current developments, technical considerations, new courses and new standards so crucial to any successful electrical contracting business. Irrespective of size and scope, all electrical contracting businesses are well served, and the most important aspect of membership is to make sure your business benefits from the many services the ECA(SA) provides. You can find out more about all of the association services here.
