Covid strikes training programs as retailers face shortage of installers

Brenton Bailey from Bailey Blinds in South Australia told attendees at the recent Blind Manufacturers Association of Australia (BMAA) AGM that there is a massive shortage of installers in South Australia and more needed to be done in the area of training.

“We’ve recently had a few installers retire which has caused quite a problem for the local industry.”

He was backed by Tony Politis of Hunter Douglas who said that the age of most of the installers that are currently in the industry and the lack of new ones coming through was one of the industry’s biggest concerns looking forward.

“I think it’s not just training, it’s being able to recruit the required installers.  We’ve got this unique situation where there’s a peak demand period, where there are never enough installers.”

“And I think that that’s a characteristic of the problem that makes it very difficult for businesses to know how to manage.”

The BMAA AGM was held in Brisbane in late November while state borders were still effectively closed meaning many attendees could only join via Zoom.

Stephen Quirk was one of those unable to attend. As the director of the Frontline Group based out of Melbourne, Stephen sent a report to the BMAA board outlining the immense challenges his organisation had faced dealing with delivering apprenticeships and training to the industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

“I managed to retain all staff at Frontline and have pivoted the company to a range of projects and work that we have been able to do just entirely from our own financial resources and via phone, email and Zoom,” Quirk said.

“BMAA members especially in Victoria have curtailed their activities and engagement with training and restrictions placed on Frontline by states such as Qld, NSW, SA and WA have impacted our capacity to support and serve the industry’s training requirements.” 

Quirk said the program continues to provide training across Victoria to 70 plus apprentices in areas including Hoppers Crossing, Sunbury, Bacchus Marsh, Cheltenham, Springvale, Ringwood, and Bairnsdale.

“The program in Queensland reflects the lower level of Government support but we continue to deliver the Cert III to more than 25 people in smallish member companies from Gold Coast, Southern and Northern suburbs of Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gympie.”

“In NSW, NSW TAFE has decided to hold back until mid-2021, so we are planning to move ahead with another provider in the meantime and then take up NSW TAFE when they are organised.”

Quirk added that Frontline had continued to advocate for the industry during the pandemic and designed a short series of courses, learning and skill sets which include installation, upgrading the previous certificate three qualification to the 2019 version.