Change creates opportunities

In this ever-changing world, we need to accept that change is a natural part of everyday life.

Once you started and finished your career with one company, and today the average is between 10 and 15 jobs over a career.

There was a time when many utilities were taken for granted. Electricity was available and reliable, at a reasonable cost. If you needed more, the infrastructure was provided and you paid for the service. Water and gas supply was also available and reliable.

Over the past few years prices have gone up and reliability has decreased. This is opening up new opportunities and we see many companies developing new solutions to tackle the challenges of today. Solar, wave, wind and hydrogen are just a few examples of generation and the storage of energy that are creating another fast growing market.

For many years we had a defined list of options for transport, and today each of them is being challenged. Petrol cars are being challenged with electric vehicles, and ride sharing is challenging the ownership of cars. Where will the autonomous vehicles take us?

Once upon a time companies produced products and services for the local market at local prices. Today it’s a world market, taking competition to a new level. You once went to the local bookstore to see what was available, and today you can search the world for a book, pay for it online and have it almost instantly — plus technology can read the book to you while you are driving to work.

The challenge is to grasp the changes. What do you need to do to capitalise on these changes and enhance your career opportunities? The answers are in education, innovation, collaboration and networking.

• Education: With technology changing so fast, you need to invest in your most valuable asset — yourself.
• Innovation: You need to either create or find new innovative solutions to what you do on a daily basis, or risk being left behind.
• Collaboration: As an individual, either a person or as a company, your own knowledge and resources limit you. The challenge is to find like-minded people who can expand your collective knowledge and deliver better outcomes.
• Networking: How will you find that new innovative solution, or find people to collaborate with, to ensure you don’t get left behind? The answer is to network with like-minded people. This is usually undertaken on several levels: business, industry and local communities.

The Institute of Instrumentation, Control and Automation is focused on assisting our industry to create networking opportunities, foster the opportunity for you to meet like-minded people, to create a better understanding of what technology is currently available, and to meet others with whom you can collaborate to enhance your opportunities.

The IICA is continuing to see record attendances at the IICA events around Australia. Where else will you be able to enhance your professional career, with so many presentations and an expo to see the latest technology available?

We look forward to seeing you at our next event.

*Greg Garrihy is the CEO of the Institute of Instrumentation, Control & Automation (IICA). He has a solid business and industry background, with his most recent role being a partner at nem Australasia, assisting business leaders achieve their potential by enhancing their performance, vision and aspirations. He has been involved in the automation and process control industry since 1997 and has held key roles in several market-leading automation and instrumentation companies. He has also been chair of the IICA South Australian branch for the past four years.

 Image: ©stock.adobe.com/chombosan