100 | BUILDING Calder Stewart Construction Ltd: BCITO T T Aimee Wilson Training tradies across the country Over its history, BCITO has trained and qualified over 55,000 tradespeople. For the past 34 years, BCITO has been a lead facilitator across 16 different construction trades in New Zealand, fostering the relationship between apprentices and their employers. The not-for-profit organisation looks after 16,000 trade apprentices throughout the country, and operates a successful secondary school programme that started in 2005. Over its history, BCITO has trained and qualified over 55,000 tradespeople. Executive Director, Greg Durkin has been involved in BCITO for 28 years, and helped write the high school programme, which helps transition teenagers into the workforce for those interested in learning a trade. Of the 500-plus high schools throughout the country, BCITO is involved with two-thirds of these, supporting young people into the construction industry. The organisation’s programmes are also used in every Corrections facility throughout the country, helping rehabilitate people back into the community. Around 250 BCITO training advisors are on the road every day visiting apprentices and supporting them with their learning, and making sure employers understand their obligations as well. “Construction employers working with BCITO care about their staff and their apprentices. As a training provider, BCITO wants to make sure they have skilled people,” says Greg. “In construction, people take raw materials and combine that with human talent to make each client’s dreams come true. Those buildings within each of our communities are an important legacy.” Greg says one in five people in the New Zealand workforce are directly or indirectly in construction, and the country is only now just coming out of a strong, five-year growth period. “The volume of new builds was extraordinary, it was absolutely phenomenal, and the industry grew very quickly, but it has since declined quite rapidly too.” While there has been a sharp decline in resource consents across the building sector over the past 18 months, from 53,000 to 32,300, the industry is still strong with a recent uplift of renovation work, he says. The 32,000 figure of new building consents is still well above the New Zealand long-term average. “The industry does have cycles, and those cycles are almost exclusively driven by the economy. But the industry does not stop, it just gets less or more busy.” It is during less busy periods that employers often invest in their apprentices, and take on more building maintenance work. “What’s interesting is that we haven’t seen a huge reduction in the numbers of apprentices. Employers are holding on to them, so that when the boom comes again, they will have the skilled staff to take advantage of this.” Greg says only about a third of all consented work is new builds. “There is a continual stream of work, whether the quantity of building work is high or not.” BCITO has relationships with up to 10,000 companies around New Zealand – including about 200 major ones such as Calder Stewart, and the rest being smaller workplaces of 20 staff or less. “Calder Stewart is a strong trainer and is a great employer of apprentices. And that really shows in the work that they do embracing diversity.” BCITO is working hard on getting to the point where a person’s gender shouldn’t have anything to do with their role and the work they do. In 2015, only 0.3% of BCITO apprentices were female, but now that has increased to 7% – in the painting and decorating industry it is already over 20%. BCITO prides itself in being successful through helping build people who are building people. The company employs 417 staff across New Zealand. “We employ people who are dedicated to helping employers to recruit and train great staff. In turn, this helps them be great firms in their communities.” PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY AND PROPERTY FIRE PROTECTION IQP INSPECTIONS BUILDING WOF Nelson: 03 548 2640 office@ffpnelson.co.nz ffpnelson.co.nz Proudly installing Fire Protection on another project with Calder Stewart Construction Heating, Ventilation and Airconditioning Specialists Authorised Dealer Commercial and Residential Design Build Specialists 03 488 4088 daviesheatncool.co.nz info@daviesheatncool.co.nz Proud to support Calder Stewart Construction Proud to supply gantry cranes for Calder Stewart Construction • Gantry Crane manufacture & servicing • Pressure Vessels • Mechanical Engineering • Plant maintenance and installations • Steel Fabrication • Machining 36 Armstrong Street, Palmerston North | P. 06 357 4039 | E. m.taylor@nivenengineering.co.nz fultonhogan.com Proudly supporting development in Dunedin for more than 90 years. Creating, connecting and caring for communities.
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