NZSA CEO’s March Report NZSA CEO Gary Morrison talks broadened MSD employment partnership, NZSA 50th anniversary, proposed NZ income insurance scheme, electronic security qualifications funding, and more.
I had the pleasure of having a week off in Central Otago in late February, enjoying some bike riding (highly recommend the Lake Dunstan Trail but next time will forget my ego and go for an ebike) and quality wine and food.
Gary Morrison is CEO of the New Zealand Security Association (NZSA). A qualified accountant, Gary originally joined Armourguard Security as a junior accountant and held several roles over two decades prior to appointment as GM for New Zealand and Fiji, after which he established Icon Security Group.
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Whilst local tourism and hospitality providers have been largely resilient to the direct impacts of Covid/Omicron, it was very obvious that the most significant problem they are facing is finding workers. I spoke to a number of business owners who have either shut down their customer facing operations or are on the point of closing down and with little likelihood of reopening unless there is a dramatic change to government border and migration settings. Whilst the government has a philosophy of training New Zealanders into roles, the simple reality is that many Kiwis have no interest in the work on offer, particularly given that just about every industry sector is desperate for workers. Similarly, the argument that there are 188,000 potential workers on the Job Seeker benefit has little merit when a significant proportion of those are long-term beneficiaries who for reasons of mental health or dependency issues will find it difficult to gain employment. The security industry has been dealing with the same issues around staff shortages for several years, exacerbated by first Covid and more recently the Omicron variant. We certainly appreciate that it is very trying times for security providers
in trying to ensure service continuity whilst dealing with daily staff shortages of up to 20%. Talking to a number of our members, there has been considerable planning around business continuity and the prioritisation of services so as to ensure minimum disruption to customers and that certainly seems to be paying dividends. Several weeks ago, we announced a special partnership arrangement between MSD and NZSA focused on finding additional workers for the security industry and specifically to assist with Omicron enforced staffing shortages. This follows on from our existing Skills for Industry programme with MSD that we have provided for the last four years, but with broadened employment outcomes that now include casual and part-time employment and open to all those allowed to work in New Zealand. Despite only just launching our social media advertising, themed around helping maintain critical services and infrastructure, we have received a great initial response from potential applicants and will be working with those members who have registered interest in the programme with regards to the interviewing and potential employment of these candidates. If this service may be of interest please email Andrea Charlton on andrea@security.org.nz. NZSA 50th anniversary Hopefully you noted the new logo at the header of this months newsletter celebrating 50 years of existence for the NZSA. Originally formed as the New Zealand Security Industry Association April/May 2022
