The NSW Government is putting out the call for local tradies to install smart LED lights in NSW public schools with the announcement of the third tranche of schools to benefit from the LED Lighting Upgrade Program, taking the total number of participating schools to more than 800. 

The $157.8 million initiative was launched last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is targeted at replacing old inefficient lights in NSW public schools with smart LED lights. 

Alister Henskens SC MP welcomed the news that 6 schools in Ku-ring-gai will have old inefficient lights replaced with smart LED lights, benefiting the eyes and minds of students and the power bills for schools.  

 “This is exciting news for our local schools and I would encourage local tradies to explore the opportunities to install the new LED lights,” Mr Henskens said.  

“The lights can be tuned to mimic natural light which can help students’ education by improving their attentiveness and comprehension.” 

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that the NSW Government is committed to improving the learning spaces for students as well as supporting communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.  “The lighting upgrade is a great way for the schools to improve teaching spaces, reduce their power and maintenance bills but is also a fantastic way to stimulate local economic growth,” Ms Mitchell said.  

Local tradies will be able to tender for lighting upgrade opportunities via the Local Trades Scheme, an online platform where small businesses can engage directly with the Department of Education to bid for work at public schools in their local communities. The program supports more than 1,200 jobs by using local tradies to do the installation work where possible. This will help to stimulate local economies and help communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.   

Already hundreds of tender opportunities have been published via the Local Trades Scheme with more to come in the following weeks. 

The LED Lighting Upgrade Program will bring savings on electricity bills and also improve the sustainability of schools and take steps towards the NSW Government’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. 

The NSW Government is investing $7.9 billion over the next four years, continuing its program to deliver 215 new and upgraded schools to support communities across NSW. This is the largest investment in public education infrastructure in the history of NSW.