ASSOCIATIONS 19
<< Continued from page 17 most notably from Naledi Pandor, Minister of Higher Education, for our efforts on the Centres of Specialisation( COS) Project and the Dual System Pilot Project( DSPP).
Steve van Zyl
Steve van Zyl, newly appointed technical manager at IOPSA.
industry and for IOPSA; I look forward to him joining the team in September. He will report directly to Steve Brown.
The cost of one of the consultants we have been using on training projects has grown to R15 000 – R18 000 per month. Due to this, we have decided to employ a permanent member of staff to handle all admin related to training. This is an affirmative action job opportunity. The rest of the team remains the same. Every one of them performs above and beyond expectation. I can honestly say that without them, we certainly wouldn’ t be in the strong position we are now.
INSURANCE FORUM There has been no significant activity in this period. The next round of meetings is scheduled for September 2018.
MANUFACTURERS FORUM Interactions continue with the manufacturers forum and are starting to yield results. IOPSA has been given seed capital to begin the Single Label Scheme. In the next few months, we will start to see some real progress on this front.
IOPSA TRAINING PROJECTS It is very heartening to see that so many organisations are now approaching IOPSA to assist in their training objectives. The reason for this is simply that they see the value and know that they will get measurable results. Training projects will continue to be a key focus area for IOPSA in future, as they are critical to the future of our industry, they are important sources of funding, and they raise the brand capital of IOPSA in the market. We have received praise from several quarters,
IOPSA STRATEGY MOVING FORWARD It is clear to me that going forward, we will need to strengthen the regions. While we have some incredibly dedicated volunteers in place, they all have their own businesses to run and as such, are limited in the time they can give to IOPSA. If we had permanent employees in each region to support the volunteer committees and to perform the required day-to-day tasks, we would achieve far more. Through the inspectorate, we have a possible mechanism for funding this and we will be looking closely at how we can make it a reality as soon as possible.
We need to grow our membership. At 700-odd members, we are not truly representative of the market as a whole. To this end, we need several interventions:
• Depending on the budget for 2019, reduce membership fees.
• Establish IOPSA regions in all provinces of South Africa, even if these must be subsidised for a time.
• Establishment of sub-regions in provinces where IOPSA’ s presence is strong.
• Heavy targeting of black plumbers, especially in township areas.
• Large marketing campaigns targeting both plumbers and their customers.
Over the past few years, we have developed several great products, such as App Plumber, LMS App, electronic and print newsletters, a jobs portal, Facebook, and the website. We have never really leveraged the income-generating possibilities of these products. IOPSA needs to further develop alternatives to membership fees as income streams and these products provide an ideal opportunity for IOPSA to earn some marketing income.
In conclusion, IOPSA is in a very good position. The industry as a whole is experiencing very tough conditions and we hope that if we can continue to add real value to our members, we will continue to see growth, even in these tough times. PA www. plumbingafrica. co. za October 2018 Volume 24 I Number 8