20 years ago:
• The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) and ACC initiated a joint project to identify the issues and find solutions to the building industry’s high injury rate.
BCITO chief executive Trevor Allsebrook said while ACC was providing the funding, the project was driven by industry, with the BCITO taking a leadership role.
The first phase of the project was a research and scoping exercise involving intensive industry consultation, followed by a national workshop to decide future action.
15 years ago:
• Creditors owed $23 million by Hartner Construction — New Zealand’s fourth-largest construction company that was put into liquidation in 2003 — were officially advised that they wouldn’t be receiving any money.
The receiver had sold the company’s assets and used proceeds to pay the bank, although this had not raised enough money to pay the full amount owed. One of the 423 creditors was an Auckland-based company owed $1.3 million.
Hartner Construction had been building five of the six new Princes Wharf apartment buildings in Auckland, including the Hilton Hotel, at the time of the collapse.
10 years ago:
• The Department of Building and Housing contracted Assessment Systems Ltd (ASL) to be its assessment agent for the Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) scheme which was due to get underway in November 2007.
ASL was recruiting assessors who were required to be technically competent in the licence classes they assessed, computer savvy, have good interpersonal and communication skills, and have credibility in the industry.
Assessment fundamentals and techniques were to be covered in a series of training sessions planned for August to November 2007.
5 years ago:
• New research released by the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) showed the next generation of New Zealand builders were technology-savvy, professional and passionate about their industry.
The BCITO’s annual customer satisfaction survey asked more than 600 apprentices for feedback on job and training satisfaction, internet habits and factors that influenced their career decisions.
According to the survey, 92% of apprentices believed they were learning the right skills for successful career development.
BCITO chief executive Ruma Karaitiana said a new trend was emerging, with 89% of apprentices using the internet to access resources such as social media sites and industry publications on a daily basis.
