Business View Oceania | Volume 3, Issue 11

69 70 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 3, ISSUE 11 Supporting such a wide range of members across the industry does not come without challenges, Mr. Brakell explains. “There are a number of challenges our sector faces, including skill shortages, a lack of uniformity across states and territories, and the ageing nature of our workforce. We work each day to attract the right people to the industry and maintain regulations to avoid the appearance of poor conduct, low- quality work, and outdated techniques. Our sector is a lot more capital intensive than others such as construction, and many career paths can come from starting out as an apprentice. Business owner, installer, CAD operator, Production Manager, Sales Manager, Designer, Production scheduler…There’s real potential for career growth for new arrivals to the industry.” ACFA communicates with members through regular email updates, quarterly newsletters, and social media including a members-only Facebook group. A large part of communication efforts made by the ACFA is their organisation of online and in-person events such as conferences, consultations, AGMs, and webinars. Webinars are available for national and state-specific audiences, and cover topics such as smart marketing, industry forecasts and changes, contract development, and more. They are an invaluable resource for members to take part in, Mr Brakell says. “We have had to move most of our annual meetings online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but our communication with members has remained stronger than ever.” ACFA is supportive of industry innovation and keeps a close eye on potential areas for technological, technical, and skills-based growth. “The majority of the sector across micro, small, medium, and large enterprises, have invested in the newest technology, particularly CNC machinery and drawing/quoting packages. We stay up to date with the latest on industry innovations and technology development, then distribute that information to our members along with any templates or resources they deals, with aims to use industry relationships with groups such as FIRST Super to look after the retirement nest eggs of members. Increasing apprentice uptake, further growing the reach of ACFA across Australia, and taking on more staff to better manage the growing demand upon the organisation are all identified as priorities going forward. With these priorities in mind, ACFA will continue to support the furniture, cabinet making, kitchen, and joinery sectors as the industry progresses. AUSTRAL I AN CAB INET AND FURNI TURE ASSOC I AT ION (ACFA) might need to manage said development.” Mr. Brakell concludes with a note on the future. “For the future development of the industry, we would like to see uniformity across Australia regarding licensing, home warranty insurance, and workplace health and safety. The current training package for the sector is under review, and our view on that is that we need more of a focus on technology skills during training. Obviously, the current workforce will need to be trained up accordingly alongside any changes. ACFA would also like to see great collaboration with the public providers.” The association is also planning on expanding on group buying