Codewords issue 98

Registrar’s update

Kia ora and welcome

As we reach the end of the year it’s a good time to reflect on the year that has been.

The LBP scheme has had another full year where we have seen an overall increase in the number of people who are licensed, but are also continuing to see reasonably high numbers of complaints. I encourage anyone reading to check out the Building Practitioners Board's 2019/20 Annual Report, which is available on our website (www.lbp.govt.nz). The Annual Report includes statistical information about complaints and licence numbers, as well as providing insight from the Board's perspective of the complaints they hear. 

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, and the construction sector has not been immune.  At the start of the year New Zealand was in a construction boom, and business was looking pretty good for the residential sector. A significant building law reform programme was also already underway when COVID-19 led to unprecedented changes to our economy and way of life.

The Building System Legislative Reform has continued, however we have needed to be versatile and resilient as the situation changed rapidly. The industry had to adapt to the COVID alert levels, and learn new ways to work safely an incorporate social distancing into health and safety plans. Priorities changed, as the focus shifted to keeping operations up and running through challenging and uncertain circumstances.

In July the Government removed fees for apprenticeships, and included construction as a targeted area for funding. This initiative aims to help kiwis retrain after they lost jobs in other industries, as well as addressing skills shortages. There was also funding support to keep existing apprentices on so the pipeline of skilled workers could be maintained through this period of uncertainty.

In August Schedule 1 of the Building Act was expanded, so more low risk work can be completed without requiring a building consent. Some of these exemptions also required the use of LBPs, which was a real win for the scheme.

Finally, I want to thank the team who support me and the LBP scheme as well as the Building Practitioners Board for the hard work they have put in.

Looking forward to 2021 building and construction will be a key player in New Zealand’s economic recovery. There are challenges ahead, but there are also opportunities as demand for housing remains strong.

Until then, have a good summer break, and I hope you get to spend some quality time friends and whanau.

Kia kaha

Skills maintenance articles