Pictured: CCNZ Canterbury Awards – Connexis Southern Area Manager Fiona Malloch presents the Connexis Company Award to Gareth Bruce of Faulks Investments.
Competent, qualified people are the future of the rapidly growing Civil Infrastructure Industry – and Christchurch company Faulks Investments has been recognised with an industry award for its outstanding staff training.
A very deserving Faulks won the Connexis Company Award at the recent Civil Contractors New Zealand (CCNZ) Canterbury Awards.
Connexis Southern Area Manager Fiona Malloch says, “Faulks have fully embraced qualifying their staff in technical qualifications and certifying for Civil Trades Certification. The internal support from all levels of management towards their apprentices and industry sector trainees is amazing and reflects their culture of training, developing and qualifying staff.
“Currently Faulks has six staff undergoing New Zealand Apprenticeships programmes and six qualifying towards Civil Trades Certification.”
Faulks General Manager Corran Pywell says the company is very proud, and also surprised to win the award. “A recognised Civil Industry Trade Certification is long overdue and all the staff are grasping the concept and are very excited about it, not only the young up and coming ones, but also those who have worked in the industry for many years and are now receiving a formal qualification recognising their work.”
“It’s a win, win situation as an apprenticeship secures our staff to stay with us, they’re committed to us and we’re committed to them.”
In 2015 there were just over 9,000 people employed in the Civil sector in Canterbury with a job growth rate of 7.3% between 2014 and 2015, while the total job growth rate for the region was 3.2% over that same period. Despite work on the Rebuild starting to wind down, the demand for qualified competent people in the region remains strong.
In light of this, Fiona Malloch says, “It is essential that employers commit to training and staff development to meet future skills demands and that’s exactly what Faulks is doing. It’s important to recognise companies that have strong commitment to training, as it is a key factor in attracting and retaining good talent for the industry.
“Connexis is very proud to support the CCNZ Canterbury Awards. As the Industry Association for the Civil Industry, CCNZ plays an important role in raising skill levels at both regional and national level.
“A high proportion of Canterbury members have their staff engaged in qualifications at various levels. Locally, CCNZ have a training sub-committee dedicated to encouraging and supporting members to upskill and qualify their staff. Nationally, CCNZ works very closely alongside industry and Connexis to shape industry standards and qualifications for the Civil Industry.”
