BoP Civil Infrastructure Workers Praise Industry Initiative

PRESS RELEASE
BoP Civil Infrastructure Workers Praise Industry Initiative

Tauranga, 2 December 2016: A group of Bay of Plenty Civil Infrastructure workers are proud to have a new industry Trade Certification to their name and are praising the Industry for its introduction.

Anthony Rudkin (Rud) from Opotiki's Waiotahi Contractors and Fulton Hogan Tauranga's David Hurn are both about to receive their Civil Trades Certification. Mt Maunganui based Manuel Jack-Kino (Cooch) who works for Moon Civil and Drainage received his a few weeks ago.

Civil Trades provides formal recognition for people working at tradesperson level that are both qualified and highly skilled in constructing and maintaining civil infrastructure. Previously - unlike building, plumbing and electrical workers - workers in civil infrastructure, in jobs such as road construction and pipe installation, had no formal transferrable trade certification.

David says that Civil Trades is a great idea and long overdue. "We have a very diverse industry with a lot more technical innovations than people realise. Civil Trades goes a long way to recognising and formalising the standards that we ourselves have set and strive to achieve.

"Civil Trades benefits not only the individual, but the industry as a whole. Long gone are the days of the road worker being seen as an end of the line job. Here in New Zealand we lead the way in road design and construction and we need people who are keen to learn about our industry because when we upskill our teams we are also upskilling our industry. It's a win /win situation."

For 32- year industry veteran Anthony Rudkin - or Rud as he's known - all his years of experience have also translated into Civil Trades Certification. Rud works at Waiotahi Contractors in Opotiki and says that it's great to have his experience formally recognised.

"It's long overdue for the industry, which up until now hasn't had formal trade for workers and it's also great to set an industry standard." Rud also puts his skills and knowledge to good use training younger members of his team.

Cooch is also a long time industry professional who is proud to have his skills and expertise formally recognised and also spends a lot of time mentoring younger staff. "It's nice to have my experience recognised and it's really important for young staff coming through the industry, it's a great move by the industry," he says.

Cooch adds that Civil Trades helps educate the younger staff about the fact that there's more to the job than just driving machines and offers a depth of understanding about the industry they're working in, which is vital for future career paths.

The trio's 'on the job' experience garnered over many years in the industry has enabled them to become Civil Trades Certified through Recognition of Current Competence (RCC).

Civil Infrastructure is one of the largest industries in the country encompassing 600 businesses and 40,000 employees nationwide, with a $20 billion annual turnover – and there is an acute shortage of competent qualified tradespeople. Civil Trades certification will help to address this shortage by raising skills levels within the industry as well as attracting new people to careers in Infrastructure. It is being hailed as a huge step forward by employers.

To become Civil Trades Certified, workers must complete a recognised Civil Infrastructure Trades Qualification, together with 8,000 hours of on job experience (including 2,000 hours at Level 4 competency). Certification can be achieved through a New Zealand Apprenticeship, a regular industry sector qualification, or RCC depending on the individual’s level of experience.

Connexis Civil Industry & Training Manager Robbie Paul says that the introduction of Civil Trades is a significant milestone for the industry.

"It's very exciting. We will see a steady roll out of Certified Civil Tradespeople over the coming years with transferrable skills, which is of course beneficial to both workers and employees. Qualified, competent people produce quality infrastructure.

"Civil Trades will also help to attract workers to the industry now that there's a clear career path. Introducing a trade regime for Civil Infrastructure has been something that has been wanted by the industry for a long time and it's a significant step for both the industry and its workers,” he says.

In 2015 there were 47,500 people employed in the civil sector with a job growth rate of 6.2% between 2014 and 2015, while the total economy growth was 2.4% over that same period. The industry is continuing to grow and it is estimated that they will need approximately 19,600 new people by 2020 to meet workforce requirements.

This group is following in the footsteps of an initial pilot group who graduated at the end of last year. Currently almost 400 people are working towards Civil Trades qualifications, with the objective of becoming Civil Trades Certified.

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