President’s Desk

Gearing up for a busy 2019 in professional development

Welcome to 2019! I hope you all had a safe and happy new year break and a chance to unwind in preparation for the year ahead.

I’ve spent some time since returning from leave talking to the branch and sub-branch chairs about this year and what educational and networking events are planned, and it’s been great to see such enthusiasm for what I’m sure will be a very busy but successful year for the IQA and the industry.

The end of 2018 saw a significant amount of change within the organisation, with our new CEO Kylie Fahey joining the team and the launch of the Australasian Academy of Quarrying. I’m pleased to see Kylie has hit the ground running and has transitioned well into our organisation, providing insight, strategy and execution to assist the IQA in working towards its strategic plan and organisational goals.

I’m confident our members will see the benefits throughout 2019 and beyond, with focused effort resulting in sustainable growth for the Institute and longevity.

This is also an IQA conference year, and we’re headed to Geelong, with the home of the Geelong Cats AFL club our conference venue.

{{quote-A:R-W:225-Q:"The IQA is well placed to provide a range of education and training initiatives through recently formed partnerships."}}The conference theme is “The Future of Quarrying” – for which an exciting and engaging program is being developed.

Some of the topics will include: the maximisation of limited natural resources through technology; the utilisation of the benefits of effectively managing diversity in the workplace; developments in emerging fixed and mobile plant technology; environmental and economic trends affecting the national quarrying industry; and many more.

We’ve already received outstanding support and interest in the conference from industry sponsors.

The 2019 conference will also see a revised Tuesday to Thursday format, a key change resulting from the 2017 post-conference survey.

My thanks go to Brad Rooney, the 2019 conference chairman, for his hard work and commitment to date. I’m looking forward to what will no doubt be the premier industry event of the year.

There has already been an increase in members seeking vocational education this year. The IQA is now well placed to provide Certificate III through to Diploma courses in surface extraction, along with other units of competency required by the various regulators for statutory positions through recently formed partnerships. Members wishing to inquire or enrol in these courses can contact Kylie Fahey via email: ceo@quarry.com.au

It’s also worth a reminder that the IQA’s face to face professional development programs (PDPs) and webinar professional development programs (wPDPs) are still available to the industry.

We are very lucky to have an excellent range of educational products, designed for the quarrying industry and developed with direct input from the industry.

Significant effort has been deployed to review the content of many of the programs and to release new and relevant PDPs and wPDPs. A full list of PDPs and wPDPs can be found on the IQA’s website.

I trust 2019 has started well for you all. I look forward to seeing you at an IQA event throughout the year.

Have a safe and productive month ahead!

Leave a Reply

Send this to a friend