Regional challenges insight
Justin Boehm, LEEA Regional Manager – Australia & New Zealand, asks: have you read LEEA’s State of the Lifting Industry Report yet? This important survey, which can be downloaded at LEEA Lifting Futures, garnered almost 400 responses from over 50 countries. It helps us speak with even greater authority about some of the things we are observing in an industry that is vital for supporting the global economy. Revealing the extent of skill challenges, the report acts as a call to arms for the sector, to ensure lifting operators have the skills they need to stay safe at work.
How challenges can differ between regions is just one of the interesting reveals from the survey. For example, the Australia New Zealand region, like the UK, has an older workforce characterised by experience, whereas other global regions have a younger workforce, something that might be wished for by ANZ employers dealing with the challenges associated with retirement and regenerating the workforce.
Given younger people tend to be much more comfortable with digital solutions, while the older generation continue to value in person, classroom-based training, then managing knowledge share between the two is something that warrants consideration.
The good news for LEEA members is that the survey found they are less likely to report skills gaps. This, we believe, is because they understand the relationship between skills and safety and therefore invest in skills and in their staff. For example, 45% have promoted their current training practices to applicants compared to 33% of non-members. LEEA members are not only more likely to train their staff, but they are also on top of the habitual skilling of their staff. While they share the industry’s recruitment challenges, they are better informed about what it is that they're actually looking for. LEEA members stand out because they care about their people as well as standards, solutions, their product and their customers. They are always seeking to improve and want to make workplaces and people safer.
