JOHN KILGOUR FPA AUSTRALIA

1. What did you know about FPA Australia before you became CEO?

To be honest, very little. With most CEO appointments, due diligence is undertaken by both sides so, as part of the recruitment process, I researched FPA Australia’s role, purpose, vision, and values. I found that these aligned well to my own personal aspirations and values and felt that I could make a significant contribution by setting a new course and direction for the organisation.

2. What have you learned in the role?

The fire protection industry plays an important role in protecting life, property, and the environment. With over 5,800 companies and 21,000 workers in both the fire safety and fire protection services sectors in Australia, I have learned that they are a passionate group of professionals who make our community safer. The work of our members and qualified practitioners quite often goes unnoticed, which was one of the reasons we introduced National Fire Protection Month last September to recognise and celebrate the important role played by fire protection.

3. What are the biggest opportunities?

With the release of the findings and recommendations of the Building Confidence report (Shergold – Weir 2018), we are now starting to see real regulatory reform by government, albeit at varying size, scale, and pace.

This can be seen not only in changes to the National Construction Code and Australian standards, but also through the introduction of new professional services requirements for fire system design, installation, certification, maintenance, inspection and testing, assessment, and bushfire planning and design.

Governments, clients, and the broader community now expect professional services to be delivered to a high standard of quality, compliance, and assurance.

FPA Australia, its members, and qualified practitioners have the unique opportunity to capitalise on these reforms and to position themselves for the future.

The single biggest challenge confronting our industry is delivering the skillsets and training that will build capacity and capability to support and strengthen our world-class fire protection sector.

Creating pathways from student to retirement and then delivering the professional skills needed to meet the increased demand is a real challenge for all in the building and construction industry. The infrastructure agenda set by government as part of the social and economic recovery from COVID-19 is ambitious. Keeping pace with this and having government recognise the important role played by industry registered training organisations, and not just TAFEs, will be critical to delivering a viable fire protection workforce.

5. What is your key focus?

The delivery of Directions 28—FPA Australia’s fiveyear plan released in November 2022 (see page 26) is a key focus for the years ahead. This strategic plan provides the framework for our work, centred on five key strategic pillars, which we refer to as STARS— Skills development, Technical advice, Accreditation and licensing, Representation and advocacy, and Services to members. Underpinned by 20 strategic goals, this must now become an action plan and guide our future success.

Apart from the development of our new Directions 28 strategic plan, we have relocated our operations to a new headquarters, embedded our new Customer Services team, progressed our IT strategy to drive further operational efficiencies (which will result in a new FPA Australia website), and recruited key personnel to deliver our strategic agenda. This work and change management will continue throughout 2023.

‘Relevant and local’. FPA Australia, in all that we do, must be seen to be relevant and local in its engagement with key stakeholders and to meet the needs of its discerning membership.