In his first Building Today column, new RMBA national president Kieren Mallon acknowledges the history of the organisation and those that came before, and the need to embrace continuous learning.
Over the past few years I have read columns in this magazine written by previous presidents and have always been impressed by the level of enthusiasm and dedication these people have put into the role. Now it is my time to step up and front the organisation for the next two years as your national president.
This is a position I feel very honoured to hold, especially when I look back and think we have been in existence for more than 130 years — and we would not be in the enviable position we are in today if it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of those that have served before me.
One of the first events I attended in the role was the regional awards for the Apprentice of the Year in Dunedin. This was very appropriate for me as it was there that some time in the 1980s I started my apprenticeship, and the beginning of my journey in the construction industry.
I spoke about my time in the industry — and when I look back at starting in business for myself, I also started my training again. This time it was with the University of Life and the School of Hard Knocks. I can tell you from personal experience that the tuition fees are very expensive.
We have so many resources available to us, to allow us to keep learning and to make us better — better tradespeople, better businesspeople and, just better people.
We need to embrace continuous learning and make a personal commitment to invest in ourselves, so that we don’t have to pay the high tuition fees of my two educational facilities.
As many of you will be aware, our own apprenticeship system is undergoing yet another period of change. While hopefully at the delivery end your apprentices are still getting the service they require, behind the scenes there is a lot going on, with the Government committing to close down Te Pukenga, the training establishment set up under the previous government’s regime.
Passionate about apprenticeships
This is an area I am extremely passionate about and have been heavily involved with at a governance level, as well as training a large number of apprentices over many years.
The RMBA has been very active in advocating on your behalf to the Minister, and I truly hope she listens to the sector in making her decisions going forward.
I do want to acknowledge all the staff of our training organisations that have been living with the uncertainty of what is happening, and what is going to happen.
These people have been living with this uncertainty for around six years now, and have always put on a brave face when they have turned up to your sites to help your apprentices. If you get a chance to acknowledge and thank them, please do.
It was a year before taking on this role that I was asked at an Annual Members Meeting what I intended to do when I got the opportunity to become president. My answer is still the same. I believe that this industry is still very divided in some parts.
Far better outcomes
I know that when everyone works together you get far better outcomes, yet we so often engage in counter-intuitive behaviour, whether this is with the client, design team, councils, contractors or subcontractors.
I would very much like to see all participants in the sector working more closely together. For this to happen we need to see and understand each other’s point of view.
We also need to look at opportunities where we can work together to look at commonalities regarding how we train, and how to achieve a common goal of “Best Outcomes for All”.
I am very much looking forward to getting out and meeting as many of you as I can over the next two years — and to have a two-way conversation so that we can all make a difference and continue to build the brand that we are all so passionate about.
