Our trainers love what they do. Add that to their subject knowledge and industry experience and you’ve got people who make learning fun, interesting and relevant.

David Richards – Lead Trainer

David Richards has over 40 years’ experience working across a wide range of industries including electrical contracting, hazardous area specialist, training and teaching. His wide-ranging experience includes roles in education and education management, as well as extensive experience with hazardous areas inspection and compliance management including engagements in Australia and Internationally in South Korea, Singapore and Pakistan.

David integrates valuable insights gained from many years of industry experience both electrical and education into his delivery of the program’s content, ensuring a high level of quality and participant engagement in his training.

Brett Argus – Trainer

Brett Argus is a qualified electrician, engineering technologist and accredited auditor with more than 10 years’ industry experience. Brett has worked with a wide variety of clients in a range of industries including hydrocarbons, mining and minerals, milling and petrochemical. He is a technical specialist in the area of explosive atmospheres, with a focus on hazardous area electrical and instrumentation system compliance. Brett has consulted both domestically and internationally for a wide variety of clients.  His experience includes hazardous area installation design, installation compliance inspections, installation auditing, hazardous area classification and engineering deliverables for installation / remediation works.

Brett’s technical expertise, experience and continuing industry practice makes him a very qualified trainer who is able to impart on his students not only the knowledge they need to work in hazardous areas but also valuable insights into the industry of hazardous areas.

Gareth Talamini – Managing Director

Gareth is a semi-reformed electrical engineer – an engineer who eventually realised that he much prefers teaching to actually doing engineering. This took some time to happen though, and before it did he worked on a number of large engineering projects including hazardous areas both in Australia and internationally, so he brings the benefit of these years of experience to his course development and delivery for Extend. Gareth also sits on Standards Australia committee MS-066– Competencies for working with electrical equipment for hazardous areas.

Cris Kerrison – Director

Cris is still an engineer, but periodically enjoys passing on some of his vast knowledge and experience in the hazardous area electrical field. Cris is one of Australia’s foremost authorities on hazardous areas and explosion protection and regularly presents at conferences and events on the subject as well as delivering training courses for Extend. He is also a member of Standards Australia committee EL-014 – Electrical Installations for Explosive Atmospheres.