Unforgettable Experiences: Highlights from Christchurch

It was 2019 when we last had our New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) AGM, Conference & Expo in Christchurch. I’d only been in my role for six months when I had to organise my first-ever conference of this size. The complexity of our event makes NZCB unique, which is why it has grown to become the fourth largest conference and expo in New Zealand. The size of the NZCB AGM, Conference & Expo makes it difficult to find a venue large enough to accommodate us. There is also the task of reserving enough beds for delegates near the venue. This event was even more challenging because we had only just completed the 2022 Conference & Expo in November. Obtaining sponsorship was hard, but our dedicated and loyal partners made the event a success, and we are forever grateful for your support. We had a record number of exhibitors – 83! The last time we were in Christchurch, we had 66.

Thursday 25 May

The sun was shining, which was a great start for the NZCB Factory Tour. We had three buses of NZCB members touring around Christchurch to visit Terra Lana wool products, Metro Performance Glass, Air Force Museum Hangar, and Parakiore Recreation and Sport Centre. Everyone enjoyed the day and found the locations interesting. A big thank you to the NZCB members who volunteered to be the tour leaders for each bus; Warwick Leigh-James, Andy McRae, and Brent Chatterton.

The keynote sessions proved popular. The highlight was Sir Graham Henry, who had everyone glued to their seats. His Q&A was popular and the session ran over 30 minutes because no one wanted to leave.

MyHR sponsored the NZCB Administrations Lunch this year. It was a little nerve racking to see the room empty until we realised that most attendees were still listening to the keynote by Sir Graham Henry. The room filled up quickly soon after, and Sylvie Thrush from MyHR presented her session on ‘Wellbeing, Burnout and Stress Management’.

Friday 26 May

Day one of the conference started smoothly. The Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is architecturally stunning! A big thank you to all the members who assisted with the goodie bags and puffer vests; Richard Poff, Dan Gallagher, David Gunter, Sharon Angus, Warwick Leigh-James and Ian Chamberlain. Thank you to GIB® for supplying the members with the puffer vest and Carters for sponsoring the bag to carry them in.

The AGM ran on time, and NZCB Chairperson Nick Farrelly led the successful conference opening. It was nice to see Hon. Dr Megan Woods in person this year.

After lunch, Dr Anthony Hoete provided some forward-thinking ideas for solving New Zealand’s housing shortage, as well as disclosing very informative statistics on how the building market has changed significantly in the past 30 years, as well as insights into his experience working in the UK and Europe.

The last session of the day was with Geoff Nash of Brosnan. He gave a very motivational talk on Strategic Leadership, as well as shared his career journey.

At 5pm, the apprentices were busy with the Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race. It was great to see the teamwork and beautiful creations made.

The Friday Night Mingler at the Air Force Museum also went well. It’s always a challenge to get 400 people from one location to another, but we managed to do this with nine bus loads and safely returned everyone by 10.30pm.

Saturday 27 May

This year we had three Educational Streams; On-site Leadership, New To Business Leadership, and Business Leadership. The objective was to cater to our membership base’s different business sizes and experiences.

National’s Tim van der Molen did the official conference closing. It was touch and go as to whether Tim could attend after his farming accident several weeks prior, so thank you Tim for attending the NZCB AGM, Conference & Expo.

A big thank you to ITM for sponsoring the NZCB Apprentice Challenge in 2023 – and the awards dinner. The cost to put on such a dinner is extravagant and your support halved the cost for attendees.

Once again, we would like to thank all our sponsors; ITM, GIB®, Mitre 10, Carters, PlaceMakers, Bunnings Trade, MyHR, Waihanga Ara Rau, and Z Business. Without your help, the cost to our members would have been considerably more.

We will take time to digest your feedback and look forward to making improvements with the hope of seeing some new faces at Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre in 2024.

You To Our 2023 Sponsors

Karla Farrar NZCB General Manager –Marketing and Services