Looking ahead: greater services for members in 2009/10

Firstly we will continue to build our profile, to government and other stakeholders, as the voice of the civil construction industry. Importantly in 2009/10, we are collaborating with Engineers Australia, the Infrastructure Association of Queensland, the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association and the Queensland Major Contractors Association, to update the 2004 Building Our Future Report.
For those who were not around in 2004, or can’t recall the details, this report exposed the chronic underspend on infrastructure in Queensland in the preceding 20 years. It attracted widespread media attention and ran as a feature in the Courier Mail over several days.
Five years on we feel the time is right to examine what has really changed in terms of the infrastructure spend and its relationship to the back log in Queensland. We expect this report to be released in the coming weeks.
We have also nominated 2009/10 as a year where we want to achieve substantial membership growth across the state. If you know of an organisation that isn’t but should be a member of the CCF, let us know and we will happily talk to them about the benefits.
We will also be stepping up our “on-site” presence with members. Obviously our Civil Train trainers will continue to be out and about helping you with your training needs. However we will also be focused on other important areas.
We have recently appointed Sheila Donaldson as our environment and sustainability manager. Sheila will join workplace health and safety manager Belinda Binnington, member services manager Chris Mountford and myself, in a program that will see at least one of us visit every member over the 12 month period.
Members would be aware that the CCF recently upgraded our Contractor Management Systems to make them more user friendly. Driving greater uptake of this across the membership will also be a major focus throughout the year. They provide small and large contractors with a management tool that gives them confidence to grow their businesses and also pursue third party certification should they wish. We will also be working with local governments, to look to certified contractors, as an option to undertake greater work for councils than has historically been the case.
On the training front, I am leading a national project across the CCF, to update all of our certificate III in civil construction training resources. These will be rolled out progressively over the next 12 months beginning with plant operations very shortly. This will ensure that Civil Train is at the leading edge of training in our industry.
We will of course continue to provide members with opportunities to learn and network at CCF events right across the state. From breakfast to the golf course we will have you covered. Importantly, these events play a critical role in our relationship with our sponsors, which we never take for granted.
It is important as we look forward, to also look back, and see how far we have travelled. 2008/9 has been a very busy year for us at the CCF and a difficult one for many of our members. Certainly what will forever be known as the ‘GFC’ swiftly and directly impacted many members.