THE MBA IS HERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS. TO ENSURE YOU GET THE BEST OUT OF IT, CONNECT WITH US AND GET INVOLVED.
A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT, GRACIE FERREIRA
A Year of Consolidation I hope everyone had a chance to have a break from work and is now reenergised for the year ahead. 2018 certainly looks very promising for the Canberra market. Property prices in Sydney and other major cities have either stagnated or dropped while Canberra continues to show substantial gains, which can only be good for our industry. Last year was undoubtedly a year for change at the MBA. Like many other businesses we had to do a ‘stocktake’ and reassess our priorities and appraise how we best support our members. What transpired was that some hard-hitting decisions had to be made and now we hope that 2018 will be a year of consolidation. On behalf of the Board I would like to thank all those involved in this transition for their cooperation and understanding. I would also like to thank those staff members, who are no longer working within the industry, for the effort they put into the MBA through the years. To our current and longer-serving staff: You have responded to all our industry needs and are more than capable of responding to future challenges. We believed in these people and they haven’t let us down; for that we thank them. To the new staff; welcome to the team and to the MBA. We hope you are prepared to roll up your sleeves and work to provide the best service to our members. We now have new sets of skills and expertise in all sectors of the organisation and we extend a welcome to all our members to come in and get to know the team. With a new team comes some exciting ideas that we want to put into place during the next year. To do this, we ask for your collaboration and involvement. It doesn’t matter whether you are young or not so young, a long standing or new member,
a newcomer to the industry or someone who has been in construction since the nail was invented, male or female, a large or small business owner, working or retired, we want you to join in and take advantage of the new opportunities. We all have something to convey and we all have something to learn. So please be on the lookout for possibilities that are outlined through the various communication channels and be actively involved in your MBA. Recently I had the pleasure of attending the MBA Apprentice Induction. It was great to see so many new and enthusiastic faces. They all seemed very keen and my discussions with them revealed the sacrifices they were willing to make to learn from the best in the business. Some will travel daily from as far as Yass or from the Braidwood district. Everyone knows just how hard it is to get a teenager out of bed, especially when the start time is 7am so these young people are really showing that they want to be part of our industry. These apprentices will be getting up at the same time as some of their friends are going to sleep. With this dedication and drive the future of the industry is in very good hands. As we move into the new year, our goals and challenges are to deliver on our key policies; to work and collaborate with government and other stakeholders for the benefit of our members and the community; to help deliver on improvement to the industry standards; and build on the MBA brand. Our priority is to enhance the services to our members, in a timely and professional manner, while gathering feedback to assist our direction. The MBA is here to help you and your business. To ensure you get the best out of it, connect with us and get involved. To all, I wish a very prosperous and productive year ahead.
MASTER BUILDERS ASSOCIATION NEWS EDITION 1 2018
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