Please provide a short personal biography about yourself including what made you want to become a locksmith?
Hello, I’m Jai. I’m 28 Years old and have been locksmithing for 11 years now. I grew up and completed my apprenticeship in Tasmania, and later moved to Ballarat VIC. My family has always valued practical skills and abilities, with most taking on some kind of apprenticeship or trade, all the way back to my great grandfather who was an inventive motor mechanic in the 1930’s, pioneering some technology in that industry like the self-serve petrol pump. Locksmithing has turned out to be the perfect outlet for me to combine my love for fabrication and design work, and allows me to work through problem solving and see real results that help everyday people.
What are some of the skills and abilities necessary for someone to succeed as a locksmith?
Excellent communication, forward thinking, attention to detail, practical knowledge, the ability to visualise and understand mechanical concepts and implementing out of the box thinking goes a long way. Locksmithing is now such a large and important industry, we cannot afford to take a “she’ll be right” attitude towards what is ultimately other people’s safety. When we carry out work to the best of our skills and abilities, we can walk away confident that the customer is far better off than when we arrived.
What key issues do you think will affect the locksmith industry in the coming decade and how do you think these should be approached?
Technology and AI are currently a large focus of most industries. We have seen a shift in the way lock manufacturing and sales are pitching features. Connectivity and ease of use can be prioritised over good quality components and security features. I think a good understanding of how locks are working, how the apps and software controlling them work and any potential vulnerabilities will be crucial to be able to recommend an effective, long-term solution to customers. This may mean we will need to pivot our skillsets and take a more of active interest in the IT side of locksmithing.
Tell us why you should be Australia’s best young locksmith.
I’ve had fantastic opportunities in my relatively short career, and have been trained by wonderful, skilled tradesmen that took an interest in not just going through the motions but making me better. Now working with others in the industry and taking opportunity to be part of a team where I can focus more on custom “one-off” solutions for customers has been a challenge but ultimately a greatly satisfying role. Any opportunity to show the same care and consideration to others in the industry that I was shown is really important to me, and sharing this is really important to me, and sharing this through the ABYL award is nice chance to do so.
