The total LBP package

Under Construction incorporates Codewords articles and questions to provide readers with both elective and mandatory skills maintenance points

Over the past few years, government, industry bodies and trade merchants have been doing their best to help NZ builders stay up to speed with skills maintenance. Here at PlaceMakers, those efforts have included hosting skills maintenance seminars and producing Under Construction. Combined, these activities provided enough skills maintenance points for all licence classes.

When the new LBP scheme was introduced in November 2015, it dubbed both these activities as elective, and introduced mandatory activities that account for 50% of skills maintenance requirements. The two mandatory activities – for all licence classes – include on-the-job learning and reading Codewords.

Codewords, published by MBIE six times per year, includes the latest regulatory and related information from the building and construction industry. It is emailed directly to all LBPs with questions that can be
answered online.

To ensure none of our readers miss these articles, and to provide a hard copy for those who prefer it, we’ve decided to incorporate them and their associated questions in Under Construction going forward – that way, if you answer all the questions in the magazine, you’ve killed two birds with one stone by fulfilling your elective and mandatory obligations. Check out this month’s Codewords articles here and here.

Just as we’re always looking for ways to make your learning more efficient, we are also looking to improve our own processes. This month we’re proud to feature our recently refurbished Waikato Frame and Truss plant, which has boosted staff morale and production – the latter by up to 100%! 

Last but not least, the final stage of the Construction Contracts Amendments Act 2015, which relates to retention money, is now in force. Read more about how retentions must now be handled here, and how some of our customers use them here.

Gary Woodhouse
General Manager Operations & Marketing