An exciting decade starts now

STEPHEN VENESS - DAVIDSON, DIRECTOR, APSCo AUSTRALIA

2022 didn’t exactly start in the way it was hoped, but perhaps we should have recalibrated expectations after the last couple of years!

The lingering impacts of COVID (particularly the increase in case numbers) meant that the year really didn’t properly kick off until February. Then along came horrendous and devastating flooding for a large part of the country and major geopolitical events in Europe…and before we blinked, it was mid-March!

It seems that the ‘new normal’ has been defined.

The positive news, is that our industry is absolutely flying and we are witnessing a market that (not without it’s obvious challenges) presents enormous opportunity for all.

My role at Davidson is national, but I am based in Brisbane and it is where I spend most of my time. The buzz and excitement around SEQ at the moment is extraordinary…with the Olympic and Paralympic Games now 10 years away, it feels as though major sectors within the business community are aligning with a common goal: a world class event, with a lasting legacy for the region.

An event which is locked in, regardless of political cycles and external factors creates a unique opportunity for industry to collaborate and plan effectively. What is becoming increasingly clear, is that the issues surrounding skills, capability and capacity of the workforce to deliver the many programs of work over the next decade are many and that our industry has a huge opportunity to play a role in. For many, the focus will be on the placement of talent into critical roles, supporting the organisations who will inevitably need to ramp-up and deliver the array of critical infrastructure to deliver on the event and the lasting legacy.

However, the opportunity to add significant value to the broader conversation is one that we should take advantage of and contribute as much as possible to. The topic of skills and the workforce is central to the success of the region over the coming decade and we sit in a privileged position to contribute in a meaningful way, and the conversation should be starting now (not once it becomes mad rush and windows of time are tight).

How we contribute toward this conversation will differ depending on our areas of expertise, but it is so exciting for our industry to be in a position to have such a meaningful voice at a time when the eyes of the world will be on our region!