Resilience and Recovery

With the New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) Conference and Expo becoming so large, we struggle to find venues to accommodate us all. Claudelands Events Centre in Hamilton is one of those venues that suit our event perfectly, with enough space to accommodate the NZCB Apprentice Challenge alongside the Conference and Expo.

Friday 18th November

There was no Annual General Meeting (AGM) at this year’s Conference and Expo, so the arrival of the NZCB members into the speaking rooms was a little slow to start.

The exhibition hall looked amazing this year, after a big effort being put in by all. Feedback from our members was that it was one of the best conferences to date, and this was due to the additional time allowed to view the expo stands. The exhibitors were also very pleased with the new timetable, so we will be adding the dedicated expo time to the 2023 agenda.

We would like to thank all our members who attended and all the exhibitors and sponsors. It is your support that has allowed us to grow to be one of the industry’s biggest national events.

This year we had COVID-19 to contend with once again, and the consequent delay to the 18th and 19th November proved to be a challenge. We were pleasantly surprised then, as the total number of registered delegates reached 744!

Thursday 17th November

The Factory Tour had a delayed start, with the bus driver getting a little bit lost but, overall, the APL Window Solutions Tour was a great experience. A big thanks to Warwick Leigh-James and Andy McRae for being tour leaders. It was a strenuous tour, taking over 13,000 steps, so – lesson learned – we should provide warning for this type of tour going forward.

A HUGE thank you to Ian Chamberlain (Past NZCB Board Chairperson) who assisted with the expo set-up and helped the National Support Office (NSO) staff over the three days. We were very grateful for the extra set of hands and to have someone who knew what to do and needed no instructions on getting things done quickly.

Registrations on the Thursday also proved challenging, with COVID-19 causing a few cancellations. However, the new ‘on arrival’ electronic registration process made check-in a breeze.

We had 19 apprentice finalists from around the country, who turned up bright and early to begin their challenge for the day: building a rickshaw, in teams of two, for the Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race. The Mitre 10 Friday Happy Hour was a big highlight with our entertaining MC, Ben Hurley, providing running commentary during the final race. And what an entertaining race it was.

Our Friday agenda ended with buses shuttling delegates to the PlaceMakers Friday Night Mingler and Casino Night, which was held at the Skycity Casino in Hamilton. Guests were able to mingle and chat, while also having a go at Blackjack and Roulette (with fake money) thanks to the casino staff.

Saturday 19th November

It was a very slow start on Saturday morning. Feedback from members and exhibitors was that we should perhaps aim to kick off a bit later in 2023. This might help with better attendance for our morning sessions.

There were 12 educational speakers over the course of the day, and unfortunately, due to a family emergency, we were unable to see Darcy Everest from EndVision. We know many of you were looking forward to his talk, so we will aim to get him in front of you in 2023.

Ben Hurley did an amazing job as the MC for the NZCB Apprentice Awards and Gala Dinner, and had delegates laughing on numerous occasions. The James Bond theme proved popular, and the costumes were amazing. VidCom did a fantastic job of the mood lighting and music throughout the Gala Dinner and stage performance. Thank you to the Les Follies team and their dancers for a great show. A big thank you to our main NZCB Apprentice Challenge sponsor, ITM. NZCB couldn’t do an event like this without your support.

As normal, to help us understand what you liked about the Conference and Expo, and what we could perhaps do better, we undertook some market research at the end of the event. A big thank you to all who took the time to complete our survey. We’ve listened to your feedback and will make improvements to ensure an even better experience next year. So don’t forget to save the dates 26th and 27th May for NZCB’s 25th AGM, and 24th Conference and Expo 2023, to be held at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. (Can you believe it’s our 25th birthday?)