The new President of Civil Contractors New Zealand, who’s been in civil construction since he was 18, wants everyone to know just how good the industry is and is seeking to make it a sector where anyone can thrive, writes Natasha Jojoa Burling.
Isaac Construction Chief Executive Jeremy Dixon took the reins from outgoing President David Howard, whose two-year term expired at the organisation’s annual general meeting on 26 August.
Jeremy had been the Vice President for the last two years. He’s been involved with CCNZ through the local Canterbury Westland Branch for well over a decade and with the national executive for at least four years.
The presidency is a voluntary role on top of his day job: “We’re just trying to give back to the industry and help move it forward and provide value to our members,” he says.
Jeremy has been in the industry for around 30 years, since he started as an 18-year-old during the summer holidays. He’s only ever worked at two businesses, starting at Fulton Hogan, where he worked for 10 years, then moving to Isaac Construction. He’s been there for the past 21 years or so – the last 10 years as Chief Executive.
Jeremy says civil construction provides people with a lot of opportunities.
“No matter where you’re from, what your past experiences or walk of life… you can come into our industry and make a career out of it.”
The work is not repetitive like other industries, such as building, he says.
“Ours is so varied and there’s so many roles in our industry.”
However, Jeremy says people in the sector aren’t great at selling their industry to school kids, parents or people in other industries as a viable place to grow a thriving career.
“So, my focus is to make sure… that people outside the industry know just how good it is and the experience I have within it.”
He’s focused on showing people there’s an opportunity for anyone.
“No matter what your background, what your ethnicity, what your sex, our industry, we want to make it a place where anyone can thrive.”
“Whether you’ve come out of school and you don’t know what you want to do or whether you’re looking at a second career change or whether you’re a professional at a university, there’s options for you to come into this industry and grow within it, evolve within it, and then make a career out of it.”
It’s not about just coming in with a degree and becoming a manager, he says. “The opportunities for people are so good.”
Part of Jeremy’s role as Vice President is being the Chair of the Civil Trades Board, which oversees the industry trade certification.
“That certification is a good example of what we’re trying to do within the industry, which is give really strong career pathways for anyone.
“It’s encouraging females, encouraging any socioeconomic background and encouraging professionals – anyone – to come into the industry because there’s opportunity in there.”
He wants people outside the industry to know it’s a “really awesome” career pathway. He says young people who want to get into a trade look at building, plumbing or being a mechanic.
“They don’t really look at our industry as a viable option, and that’s something I want to change, and that’s what we need to change if we’re going to get good people in here.”
The industry is full of great people who do amazing things, says Jeremy.
“It’s a bit tough in different pockets of the country, due to the lack of visibility or consistency of forward work, and that makes it tough for businesses and people leading businesses to navigate through that.”
“CCNZ is really connecting at the local and central government level and helping them understand that consistency of pipeline is going to get better outcomes for them in regards to the value for the dollar spent and it’s going to be a hell of a lot better for our industry.”
A more consistent pipeline of work makes it much easier to lead a business, hire new people and train them, he says.
When asked what he wants from the next government after the election, Jeremy replies: “Just to understand how important it is to have a consistent and communicated pipeline of work… [So] whatever’s happening now carries on after.”
“What we’d like is a bipartisan approach to infrastructure.”
He wants to visit all the branches around the country this year because they all operate quite differently.
“The Auckland one’s a really big beast and the Canterbury one’s really strong, but some of the others aren’t as strong.”
He wants to understand what different members need and what’s working well or what’s not working for them.
CCNZ Chief Executive Alan Pollard and his team are focused on making sure they’re providing value to members, he adds.
During his downtime, Jeremy likes spending time with his 11-year-old daughter and the rest of his family.
“When she gets to 13, I imagine we’ll be the uncoolest people in the world until she’s about 20,” he says.
He also enjoys “recreational sport, hanging with family and friends and the usual downtime stuff”.
“I’m a mad passionate Warriors supporter.
“So that takes a lot of stress and heartache.”
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