The Building Legends workshops have been specifically designed to provide training to accelerate the development of the next generation of New Zealand’s construction managers.

NZIOB National President Graeme Birkhead, who conceived the Building Legends workshop series, says: "NZIOB has identified that there is a gap in the market for training directed at construction managers, many of whom are struggling with the issues of building in today’s hot, resource constrained market. The Building Legends workshops will provide training that accelerates the development of the next generation of New Zealand’s construction managers."

The first of the Building Legends workshops will be presented by Warren Hollings on ‘Construction Planning’. These workshops will be delivered across three half-day sessions and held in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch. The Auckland workshop will run on 18 July, 1 August, and 15 August; the Wellington workshop sessions are scheduled for 22 August, 5 September, and 26 September; and in Christchurch on 29 August, 12 September, and 29 September. The number of places at each will be limited to 20. Participants will be encouraged to test what they’ve learned on their respective sites between sessions and report the results achieved back to the group.

"The role of construction manager is a critical one, these are the people that the Institute has been identifying and recognising in the Cost-based categories at the annual NZIOB awards programmes since 1994. Construction managers are responsible for delivering the building within the agreed timeframe and budget, while dealing with the myriad of challenges that arise during a construction project. It is a fast-paced role that requires the practitioner to keep a lot of balls up in the air, and it all starts with programming."

The inspiration for Building Legends was a sell-an event the NZIOB held last year involving industry legend, Warren Hollings (MNZIOB), who provided an overview of his book, ‘Stand and Deliver - Leadership and the Power of Teamwork’. A review of Warren’s book suggested that the publication was "destined to become the modern project manager's go-to text for strategy, planning and harnessing the power of teamwork to achieve outstanding results".

"The feedback from those attending the Warren Hollings event reinforced the NZIOB’s view that there was a high-level of interest from the younger generation of construction managers to be exposed to experienced industry figures like Warren, who can provide them with relevant and insightful tools and techniques to grow their own capability," Graeme Birkhead said.

With Carters as its Building Legends partner, NZIOB intends running a second workshop later in the year and delivering a further four workshops on relevant topics in 2019.

For more information on the Building Legends workshop series and to register, please visit: www.nziob.org.nz.