This will not be a deskbound job, the role will involve actively getting out into industry, engaging with end-user markets and supply chains and creating ways to improve the support members receive from LEEA. The new representative will also continue to help members ensure their audits and action plans are up to date.
LEEA CEO, Dr Ross Moloney, said: “It is exciting for us to be taking this vital step towards raising the profile of LEEA membership in Australia and New Zealand. My visit to Australia in May to meet stakeholders, members, industry representatives and the press clarified the need for LEEA to better support its members in the region and to increase their influence with end-user market and their supply chains. Recruiting a dedicated LEEA representative for the ANZ market will achieve this. Anybody interested in applying for this role is welcome to get in touch.”
Paul Fulcher, Chairman of LEEA, confirmed that “the Board of Directors are unanimous in their endorsement of this Australian initiative to support its members better and see it as a potential model to roll out throughout other continents“.
The initiative has been welcomed by the sector. Ashley Thacker, General Manager of Ranger, said: “I wholeheartedly support LEEA’s decision to locate a member of staff in Australia. We became the country’s first full member of the association in 2011 and I am honoured to sit on the board. Related activity has only reinforced my belief that it’s extremely important that the industry has a third party to deliver the same training content all over the world, tailored to each geography’s standards. A physical presence in key marketplaces is key to achieving this. Albeit on a more localised scale, we have recently initiated an expansion of our own and understand therefore the importance of placing the right people into new roles such as this. LEEA has a proven ability to attract and retain the best talent in industry and I look forward to working with my new, local representative.”
Dean Nelson, managing director of Hoisting Equipment Specialists, said: “We look forward to having a local LEEA representative engaging with not only the members nationwide on a regular basis but also spreading the philosophy of LEEA throughout industry. This will benefit members and provide acknowledgment of the skills our staff are developing through industry specific training.”
Finally, Steve Flint, owner of The Rigging Shed, concluded: “It is pleasing to hear that LEEA are re-focussing their activities for Australian members, the appointment of a full time representative can only benefit the local members and increase the profile of LEEA and the benefits to the wider industry of dealing with a LEEA member.”
