Business View Oceania - Mar 2024

right. The Institute of Research and Learning is our registered training organisation, and it delivers multiple qualifications; everything from pool and spa service, through to pool and spa building, diplomas of leadership and management, landscaping, and more. So we’ve got members that can renovate, build, and install the pool, create outdoor kitchens, landscape the backyard, and provide maintenance services, and then we support members from the entire supply network for that backyard as well.” SPASA communicates with members through a range of mediums, from keynote speeches, mentoring and coaching, media releases, and digital and print magazines, to social media, email updates, newsletters, and website communications. As well as supporting members through communication, resources, information, advocacy, and education, SPASA fosters a family-friendly working atmosphere, and holds a unique core value close to their hearts- courage. Mr. McGrath elaborates, “We’ve had a fantastic, really proactive set of board members over the years who have allowed the industry body to flourish and expand beyond the traditional.We have a diverse range of people on that board, and their expectations of us beyond our set standards is to have the willpower and the courage to try new things and deliver in ways that continue to maximise our potential. Their confidence in us and the flexibility and courageousness they have encouraged has produced great, tangible successes across the board. And that, in turn, has spurred positive change in our industry, which is the main ongoing goal of the association.” SPASA regularly works with their members to counteract the effects of industry challenges, the most recent of which the COVID-19 pandemic. With regions, states, and territories throughout Australia and New Zealand having been in lockdown on and off since the pandemic’s beginnings, and much of the general population spending more time at home as a result, pressure on pool, spa, and outdoor living businesses only continues to grow. The surge of DIY trends has brought a massive boost to companies across the entire industry, but has also introduced 17 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 06, ISSUE 03 SWIMMING POOL AND SPA ASSOCIAT ION (SPASA)