Important milestones for the Building and Construction Training Fund as it enters the second year of implementing its strategy.
The Building and Construction Training Fund (BCTF) has appointed Brian Dillon as its new CEO, alongside two new Board members, Rob Gaimster and Brett Francis.
BCTF board chairperson Kieren Mallon says that the appointment of Dillon, coupled with the appointment of two new board members representing specialist trade industries, reinforces BCTF’s commitment to capability building across the construction sector and is an important milestone for the organisation as it enters its second year of implementing its strategy.
“Brian brings extensive experience in the building and construction industry, as well as in depth knowledge of vocational education in New Zealand. His skill set, along with strong industry relationships, will enable BCTF to continue shaping the future of the New Zealand construction industry through advocating for a vocational education system that meets industry needs, sharing best practice and supporting ongoing skills development.
“We would also like to acknowledge and sincerely thank Grant Florence for his tenure as interim Chief Executive of BCTF and his ongoing commitment to the industry which is reflected in the fact that he will remain on the Board going forward as a co-opted director of BCTF. Grant has been instrumental in developing and implementing BCTF’s strategy to date,” says Mallon.
Dillon has over 25 years of experience in vocational education and construction related roles, including most recently as National Ako Network Director (Construction & Infrastructure) at Te Pūkenga and as the Faculty Dean at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology. He holds an MBA from the University of Waikato.
Additions to the Board include Rob Gaimster and Brett Francis. Both Gaimster and Francis represent specialist trades within the construction industry. Gaimster is currently Chief Executive of Concrete New Zealand and previously sat on the BCITO Board and BCTF Board during the time of its initial formation. Francis is the Chief Executive of the Window and Glass Association of New Zealand.
In the first full year of implementing its strategy, the Building and Construction Training Fund (BCTF) has awarded over 55 scholarships to tradespeople completing advanced trade-related studies and provided governance training for over 100 directors from its member constituency.
BCTF is an umbrella association that represents 18 building and construction trade association members, which is focused on building capability across the industry by playing a lead role in advocacy around trade training as well as supporting access to ongoing development opportunities.
BCTF Chief Executive Grant Florence, says an organisation focused on capability-building beyond initial trade training, BCTF helps bridge an existing gap in the sector especially given the uncertainties from further reform of vocational education.
“Supporting tradies and other professionals in the construction sector to do advanced study not only helps lift standards across the sector but is also one of the ways that we can retain valuable experience in the industry, by helping them develop and potentially progress into new roles.
“Similarly, the governance training that we’ve been providing helps to build leadership skills in-house, ensuring that boards have the ability to think strategically about the future of the industry.”
In 2024, BCTF invested over $300,000.00 in its members’ governance training and scholarships for individuals undertaking NZQA Level 4 or above qualifications in specialist construction in a range of areas, such as Building Information Modelling, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Kitchen Design and Construction Law.
In addition, BCTF has also supported initiatives to share best practice, such as developing best practice guidelines, and commenced a longer-term project to identify and map construction career pathways as an input to developing solutions to retain skilled tradespeople in the industry.
“This latest round of reform presents an opportunity to get things right, so BCTF is committed to ongoing engagement with Government to ensure the voice of industry, and ultimately learners in our sector, is heard,” says Florence.
