Groundbreaking forum for Byron tradies

BYRON Bay’s long-neglected tradies will get to have their say on the challenges facing the industry at an upcoming forum.

The event at North Beach Hotel will feature a panel discussion and Q&A session discussing the relationship between tradies, builders and developers in the Byron Shire.

The forum is sponsored by Podia, developers for the Bonobo by Raes hotel apartment project in Jonson Street, and Lennox Head-based project management company Marcon.

“A lot of contractors have been burnt over the past 12 months through companies going into administration or people not getting paid and it’s having a significant impact on their sub-contractors and workers,”

Marcon managing director Marty Brennan said.

“There are a whole lot of forums and workshops with business leaders happening around the place, which is great, but nobody’s talking to the trades, who are the people who are doing the work and who are most at risk.

“We wanted to get them all into a room and listen to them.

“There’s a whole lot of work happening, and people are saying, ‘we can’t get trades, we can’t get trades’.

“There’s still a lot of flood recovery stuff going on, so resources are limited.

“We’re losing a whole generation of trades and getting workers is more difficult for a lot of reasons.

“We want to explore how we can do things differently to encourage people to put on apprentices and train people.”

The panel will include Marcon development director Darren Jervis, Podia director (delivery) Cameron Thomson, Stuart Tyrrell from ST Electrical in Cumbalum and Colin Binns from Pottsville-based CBD Plumbing.

Tickets for the forum, which will be held from 3.30pm to 5pm on Wednesday 11 September, cost $15, including a complimentary beverage and light catering.

“There’s nothing better than a cold beer and a chat after a hot day on site,” Mr Brennan said.

For more information, visit events.humanitix.com/byron-bay-trades-forum