Page 6 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

6
Editorial
PAINT&PANEL MARCH / APRIL 2023 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
EDITOR
Sam Street (02) 9213 8334 samstreet@yaffa.com.au
WE’RE
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER
Lynette Rochford (02) 9213 8331 0407 241 554 lynetterochford@yaffa.com.au
MAKING
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Tracy Yaffa
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Lucy Yaffa
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Matthew Gunn
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Lauren Esdaile
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Stéphanie Blandin de Chalain
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Member Circulations Audit Board
PROGRESS
I
’VE BEEN SCRATCHING MY HEAD
with what to write in this issue’s editorial and wondered if I had a lit- tle editorial fatigue after 11 years in the editor’s chair. Then I looked on LinkedIn and realised that I’ve just tipped over the 12 year mark (those of you who know me are aware that I am no
friend of numbers and counting).
It’s the longest I’ve ever been in one job and it’s a testament to all the fantastic people in this industry that I can’t bear the thought of not meeting even more new people or charting the progress of so many of the people I’ve already met. Plus a shout out for the great colleagues I’ve
worked with both past and present.
The industry is very different to the one that that ‘fresh off the boat’ POM en- countered back in 2011. Looking at the positive changes, there are far less doom and gloom merchants these days and a lot more entrepreneurial go getters— both in the independent and corporate sectors. There are more women front and centre rather than just beavering away quietly in the background. The number of nominations for this year’s Women in Collision awards and the quality of those
nominations bears that out.
Back then the face of the industry was definitely white middle aged men and while they still dominate the collision re- pair sphere it is slowly becoming more diverse in both gender, ethnicity and age.
On the minus side we are still plagued by many of the same issues such as skills shortages, sustainable profit mar- gins, and the challenges of changing ve- hicle technology and the investment that that change demands in terms of equip- ment and training.
On the skills shortage front, I urge you to fill out the industry census which aims to find out if we have an ageing workforce and where the gaps are in your business- es. The more respondents we get, the greater the value of the data to highlight issues to Government departments.
Meanwhile, I feel blessed to have a job that I love in a vibrant and resilient indus- try. While the years have added kilos, wrinkles, and now even the odd grey hair, I hope I’ll be writing these editorials for many more years to come.
Sam Street – Editor
If your company has any exciting new products or is involved in any innovative projects, contact Australasian Paint & Panel editor Sam Street on samstreet@yaffa.com.au.
WHAT’S COMING UP IN 2023
EVENTS
• 6-7 May, MotorEx, Melbourne, VIC
• 9-10 June, Autocare, Brisbane, QLD
• 6-8 October, Motorclassica, Melbourne, VIC
• 17 November, Paint & Panel L!VE Conference and Awards, QLD