Report from STA president

President’s report

Welcome to another edition of Connections magazine.

We have all been affected in some way by COVID-19 in 2020 – but overall I think our industry has once again shown great resilience throughout this global pandemic. As they say in the classics, when the going gets tough, the tough get going… and most of us have found a way to keep operating despite tough lockdown restrictions – and many at record high levels.

While our annual convention was postponed, the STA office has been busy working on other new programs, including rescheduling the convention for hosting in Sydney in 2021. We are promoting the convention as SpecTex21 and, for the first time ever, have contributions coming from all of our other closely aligned industry associations – BMAA, LSAA and, of course, our STA specialised division for the Auto and Marine fabricators. With a focus on technical workshops for textile fabrication for outdoor applications – we are confident there will be something on offer for all fabricating sectors of our diverse industry. Suppliers, this is a great opportunity to get behind one big event in 2021 to showcase your products and cover many bases.

Our fabricator members have once again entered some amazing and highly complex projects for the 2020 Awards for Excellence. We thank all the participants for entering and, of course, congratulate the winners. A promotional video has also been produced to visually present the outstanding work of our members, and to create further awareness of our Australian industry for Australian consumers.

Another amazing result for our industry in 2020 has been our apprentice enrolments. Where many traditional trades are struggling for numbers and apprentices have been scaled back – our numbers have grown by approximately 20 percent in 2020 compared to 2019. While still not at the higher levels that we would like – the growth achievement is a highlight and continues to head us in the right direction. We need the grass roots to keep building and encourage all fabricators to think of apprentices when next employing. The TAFE courses offer these young people a formal tertiary qualification, and there is also significant government funding for the employment of apprentices, which makes it the most competitive financial option of employment.

Marketing our Australian industry has been another big step forward for STA. We have divided our fabrication sectors into individual categories and produced promotional videos highlighting STA’s members’ specialised skills involved with blinds and awnings, shade sails and fabric structures, auto and marine, general and industrial etc. We will keep reporting results for our marketing programs as we aim to promote STA, create consumer awareness and help fabricators promote their businesses through links with the association.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Connections and we look forward to hosting SpecTex21 in Sydney, when the industry can once again unite in person.

In the 80th year of STA – it has certainly been quite the year!

Sincerely James Kelman