Feature: A career in AV

• Features

• 06/06/2023

The AV industry finds itself at an interesting point in its evolution. Technology has been brought to the forefront of the conversation and in particular AV technology is being seen through a new lens. AV’s job is now to truly ensure that the functionality users desire becomes a reality.

The focus on AV has resulted in growth. Conversations with integrators and AV professionals in 2023 have indicated that projects are flowing in at a rate that integration businesses are unable to fulfil and execute. No one likes leaving money on the table, but it looks like there is one limiting factor, talent.

Attracting, developing, and retaining talent is a complex, multi-faceted task and the AV industry has not been tackling it to the best of its ability. More can be done to present the AV industry as an option to young professionals, present them with concrete learning paths that would lead them towards employment with AV businesses and chart a path for their career development.

Interestingly, integrators seem to be taking the lead to present a solution to the problems faced when it comes to talent. They have a vested interest in developing talent for the AV industry and many offer apprenticeship or internship programs. The natural progression for these activities, if the integrator is willing, would be a formalised learning platform. We touched on this topic in a discussion with Sachin Jain from Play Technologies who talked about establishing an institute for AV education in Begaluru which was published in our sister title, Inavate India Volume IV – 2022.

An initiative that is much further along is the Institute of AV Technology. The four-year apprenticeship program is offered by Australian integrator Pro AV Solutions in New South Wales and has been operating for close to a year.

Training talent

Anthony Jeffcoat, joint managing director for Pro AV Solutions (ACT, NSW, SA, VIC) and founder of the Institute of AV Technology, talks about how the apprenticeship program has been created: “In 2006, I established an apprenticeship within the business. My career path, prior to going into the AV industry, was in electronics and I went from a full-time electronics training course to joining the AV industry in 1985. From my experience, I found that the grounding and knowledge of electronics came in handy across everything I have done in the industry and the apprenticeship was built around this. The electronics and communication program offered by TAFE formed the core of the apprenticeship because is teaches the fundamentals of physics from acoustics to Ohms Law, and then these can be applied to everything we do in AV whether that is speaker cable runs, maximum power transfer, signals, or something else.”

He continues: “We ran that particular apprenticeship program for ten years after which we experimented with different courses and teaching platforms, but the outcome was not comparable to the original program. So, we’ve decided to go back to the original blueprint but also upgrade it and make it relevant to the people looking to join the AV industry today and that has become The Institute of AV Technology.”

Jeffcoat details how the Institute of AV Technology looks to build a base for professionals to flourish: “The apprenticeship program is structured in a way to take someone with no skills and knowledge of AV to a point where they can pursue a fruitful career in AV. The first six months are devoted to getting them comfortable and ready for on-site work with a focus on safety as well as learning the facets of the build process and what we actually experience in the field. This also allows them to get a feel for what the industry is about and allows them to make an informed decision whether it is a fit for them. From there they enrol in Certificate III Electronics & Communications while also continuing their training and education with our learning platform. We help them get their structured cabling registration. And there is a leadership course from AIM Institute to help them develop their business and management skills.”

The Certificate III Electronics and Communication certification is provided through TAFE [Technical and further education] and the course is available in every state and territory in Australia. The same holds true for the leadership component of the program which is provided in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Management. Partnering with established universities brings government and state-level recognition to the learning received by professionals. It also means that professionals are not pigeonholed to the AV industry as Jeffcoat says: “The skills people enrolled in The Institute of AV Technology learn are transferrable and that was a key outcome we wanted to achieve. We wanted them to be able to have skills that cross over to other fields and industries.”

AVIXA’s CTS is an optional component of the program offered by the Institute of AV Technology. Jeffcoat says: “We encourage professionals to get the CTS certification, but it is optional and the reasoning for that is the value of CTS itself. If someone comes in with a CTS qualification that is a step in the right direction, but it is not an indication of their skills. We still need to do skill tests and interviews to decide if they are right for the job. There are always gaps in understanding and skills even when we have candidates coming to us from another part of the AV industry or from related trades, but we can have a clear idea of a candidate’s capabilities based on their background. CTS is not a clear indicator of what someone is bringing to the table.”

Jeffcoat’s aims are to eventually grow the Institute of AV Technology to be a non-profit organisation for learning and development. He says: “We’ve done it before, and the model has proven to be successful. There are people that are working in the AV industry today that are evidence to this fact. The AV industry has been talking about developing talent and providing a pathway for young professionals to discover the world of AV for over a decade and no tangible change has been made. To be honest, I don’t want to be involved in conferences and panels talking about how we develop talent, I would much rather get it done and get on with it.”

Specific skills

To continue the discussion, we examine the initiatives from Crestron and Extron to help with the training and development of professionals to help them along their career path. Both have a developed a mature learning offering for APAC.

Joe da Silva, vice president of marketing for Extron, says: “Whether you are new to the industry or have decades of experience, Extron has the training you need, when and where you need it. We offer the same training in Asia that we offer in the US market, which includes Extron control configuration and certifications, AV-over-IP certification, AV Associates certification for fundamental AV technologies, and AV Principles supplemental courses for AV and Extron technologies.”

Eric Low, senior technical manager for SEA at Crestron, adds: “Crestron Training Institute [CTI] is the name of our training and education program and we believe it is one of the most comprehensive platforms for talent to discover a career in the AV industry and continue your professional development as you progress. In terms of our focus on Asia, we devote the same efforts and resources to the region as we do to the others. In fact, Asia has four CTI facilities [one in Singapore, two in India and one in Hong Kong] which is the same as the US.”

Low from Crestron also believes that while product and platform specific training can and should never be fully eliminated, the courses being offered are focusing more on transferrable skills. He details: “One of the prevailing misconceptions about AV training and learning is that it is product and platform specific. But if you look at how the AV industry has evolved with converging technologies, the solutions and platforms are becoming less proprietary. Crestron has standardised its programming with C# and you will find others doing the same for different languages such as Python and Lua. And I believe that this standardisation will continue.”

Joe da Silva from Extron adds: “We design all our training to provide technical information on general AV industry technologies. Our goal is for students to leave our courses confident and proficient in communicating with other AV professionals and, in the case of AV over IP, IT professionals.”

The conversation however returns to the topic of helping young talent discover the world of AV. Low from Crestron is championing this cause: “One of our main initiatives is to collaborate with education institutes. I’m personally leading our efforts here in Singapore as Crestron collaborates with Nanyang Polytechnic [NYP] and Institute of Technical Education [ITE]. One of the things we are trying to achieve is to co-develop curriculum and have AV technology courses to be part of related degrees. Having a formalised education for students that is recognised by government and industry bodies would be a huge achievement.”

Joe da Silva from Extron believes that ‘discovery’ begins with the right educational steps. He elaborates: “Integrating courses in AV industry principles into school curriculums would help create visibility of professional AV as a viable career path. Such methods could include inviting guest speakers who share their success stories and wisdom with the students. Along with these courses, technology industry organisations should continue to elevate awareness of our thriving industry. Our industry should utilise video, images, and media to educate the younger generations and stimulate their interest in this field of work.”

Low from Crestron concludes: “I believe that everything starts with young professionals and talent discovering the world of AV. This can only happen if the AV industry reaches out and provides the essential resources for exploration and lays out a proper career and skill development path in front of talent. The first thing is creating awareness, and this can be very different for different markets. Whether it is through regular participation in career fairs, direct outreach with education institutes, open house days at your own office, I think the AV industry has to come together and show talent that a very successful and fruitful career is possible just like so many of us enjoy.”