President’s Post – October

And suddenly, daylight savings has come in and we’ve gone back to having long evenings, with the promise of longer, warmer evenings to follow. Throw in some spring weather as seen with the recent high rainfall in Dunedin, and we are well into the transition from Winter to Summer, and the countdown to Christmas. I hope everyone has their end of year function planned as this is fast approaching.

One large transition we are seeing within the industry is the increasing influence of women at all levels. From representation on the NZSDA board, to two of the top three apprentices at this year’s awards. Women now hold positions at every level, including company ownership, and we love to see the amazing impact and support that Melissa and Mikayla provide when planning functions and getting our message out there to the industry. As a father of two daughters (unfortunately, neither of whom have any interest in getting into Signwriting) this has been a transition that has gathered momentum over the last 3 or 4 years and that I am particularly proud of.

I am hearing more comments from women asking for support as they navigate what has traditionally, or historically, been a male dominated industry. We really want to change this perception, and smash out the old tag line, of ‘old boys’ network’. I want to make it clear that we as an industry have really moved on.

Here at Wise Studios in Wellington, we recently hosted a NAWIC (National Association of Women in Construction) event, where we had 27 participants attend. We instructed and assisted the ladies to sign write some panels and offered more information about the industry. This was a huge success, given there was a wait list that we could not accommodate, and we are looking at hosting more events like this in Auckland and Wellington in the near future. All women within the NZSDA membership are welcome to come along as we organize these events. NAWIC is a networking group for women in construction, and signage falls into this realm. Membership fee is minimal, and you can network with lots of women from the wider construction industry. Please feel free to reach out if you require more information about this networking group.

We recently held two fantastic regional meetings in Auckland where we heard from several guest speakers, and handed out recognition certificates to those who have been a part of the association for more than ten years. It was great to meet so many Auckland based members, I thank you all for attending. To those that did not make it, I am planning on getting out to see you all over the next 4-8 weeks as my schedule permits. I’ll pop in to say hi, chat with you about the NZSDA’s plans for the future, and pass on your recognition certificates. This is one of my favorite parts of this role.

I hope everyone out there is as busy as they want to be and are ensuring margins are kept where they need to be in this tricky business environment. Please look after yourselves, and I will touch base again next month.

Until next time,

Shae Goom
Director Wise Studios
President NZSDA