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NEW CEO BREAKS THE MOULD FOR LEADERSHIP AT CCF SA
REBECCA ‘BEC’ PICKERING WILL WEAR TWO HATS IN HER BID TO SMASH RECORDS
WRITTEN BY JOHN SATTERLEY
In a landmark decision by the Board, Rebecca (“Bec”) Pickering has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of CCF SA. Rebecca is the first woman to hold the top job, replacing Phil Sutherland who held the position from July 2012 to January 2021.
She also breaks new ground by retaining the position of Director of Civil Apprenticeships and Careers Ltd (CACL), a role she has held at CCF SA since 2019. CACL is a dedicated Group Training Organisation (GTO) employing civil apprentices.
In a sit-down interview with this writer soon after taking over, Rebecca said she was proud to be recognised as the best person for the job. “The fact that my gender didn’t play a part in it was the most pleasing and significant fact about it,” she said.
“With regards to promoting women in our industry, my appointment and my long career certainly demonstrates that our industry does and will continue to recruit based on merit. I appreciate some businesses are still working through how best this works for them. For some, it is a culture shift, but I am confident we are on the right path."
Rebecca acknowledges the unique challenges facing women. Hers included returning to work 10 days after the birth of her two children, Harrison, 10, and Shelby, 8. The proud mum was confronted with their needs as breastfeeding infants when she was flying around auditing construction sites. “It’s hard juggling family and work priorities on the fly (literally) with pump and breast milk in hand, but damn, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” she said. Rebecca noted that CCF SA had also made a clear break with tradition by pairing her role as Director of CACL with that of CCF CEO. “This acknowledges the critical importance of maximising our synergies to ensure we deliver value to all stakeholders,” she said.
Civil Train and CACL attracted more than 10,000 students and businesses to its doors in 2020, a significant achievement given COVID-19 restraints and shutdowns. With 20,000 units taught, the organisations are set to smash past records and deliver even greater training outcomes to support the state’s $16.7 billion works program.
“Civil Train, our registered training organisation (RTO) and CACL exist to ensure our industry is ready, capable and has capacity to undertake the massive amount of project works set to be undertaken in the coming years,” Rebecca said.
Rebecca Pickering (centre), with Crystal Mackie (right), Zac Slade (back top left) and CACL second year Apprentices.
ABOUT THE BOSS
Rebecca has worked in the civil, commercial building and construction industries for more than 22 years. Her early career projects included the Olympic Dam Expansion Project, Southern Expressway Project (when it was one-way), Memorial Drive Tennis Centre (1999), several CBD high-rises and Hindmarsh Island Bridge.
She has run her own consultancy (Pickbec Pty Ltd) and held various executive and board roles in private construction and not-for-profit entities.
Rebecca completed a Master’s in Business Administration with the Australian Institute of Business and has recognised qualifications in the areas of business, risk management, compliance, auditing, quality management, systems and information technology. Completion of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation Program in 2008 strengthened her community and political insights.
She recalls a time, 22 years ago, when she was IT Manager at Built Environs and responsible for ensuring all its construction sites, including mine sites, were fully supported with their technology needs.
“These were the somewhat unreliable days of dial-up modems, ISDN lines and massive desktop and server computers,” she said. “I would have to haul them to and from projects and set them up across the state.”
Between tasks, Rebecca also supported projects with their quality, safety and environmental management systems, and risk and compliance needs. “I loved working in the field and on projects,” she said. Rebecca’s first employer association experience was with Master Builders SA (MBASA) as Director, Operations, leading teams across finance, IT, registered and group training, facilities/ leasing, membership, investment and industry services.
“After delivering critical strategic business projects successfully for Master Builders SA, I returned to my own consultancy to work directly with the construction industry,” she said.
“I was engaged by CCF SA to complete financial modelling to support the potential establishment of a fully focused civil group training organisation. The Board committed to the GTOventure and I was later appointed its Director.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Rebecca aims to extend the influence of CCF SA as an industry lobbyist. “Those in power – the decision makers and key influencers – want to hear from our industry,” she said. “As a collective we are in a privileged position to have the views and voices in our industry heard and registered by the Government and the Opposition of the day.
“However, we also need to extend our reach beyond government agencies and networks to activate community groups, allied networks and industry partners. Infrastructure outcomes will always be in our sights but we need to ensure we have a strong, capable, sustainable workforce with capacity to undertake the work.
“The means to support outcomes is critical, as is supporting a much stronger South Australian state brand to encourage people to work and build businesses here.
"We must encourage any business working in or affiliated with the civil industry in South Australia to join our family and ensure our voice is the loudest it can be.”
Summing up, Rebecca said a change in leadership provides an opportunity to reassess and refresh what CCF SA brings to the South Australian civil industry, the community and the economy.
“I want to see greater representation across our industry include apprentices, small businesses, industry participants and ongoing work with schools to promote and deliver civil career pathways,” she said.
“Our three primary platforms – employer association, RTO and GTO coming together – can deliver outstanding outcomes not just for our industry but for our community and the state of South Australia.”
Rebecca noted that 10,000 clients attended 20,000 Civil Train courses and units last year. “Our 500 members employ more than 30,000 workers, and our industry encompasses direct and indirect alliances, including our apprentices and host networks. And we will continue to ensure CCF SA members receive value for their membership dollar.”
