RESEARCH & EDUCATION

Development of our professions and industry

We will:

• Develop professionals by facilitating diverse career paths • Be the primary research and information source for our industry • Provide confidence and recognition in pool and spa products, services, skills and trade.

In 2020 our Registered Training Organisation (RTO) evolved into the Institute of Research and Learning Limited (IRL).

This was the first step towards our strategic goal of developing a leading RTO delivering a full range of training options and expanding our education and recognition programs to meet industry needs and emerging requirements. Our ultimate goal is to be able to attract, retain and grow talent in our industry by being able to promote ourselves as a career destination of choice with professional training programs and clear progression pathways.

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New students enrolled in trade qualifications

Trade Students

Last year we increased our scope of course offering, adding a range of business and management qualifications to further strengthen our industry as well as target students from outside of the swimming pool and spa industry. This additional revenue enables IRLearning to further invest in recognition of our qualifications across Australia and New Zealand, as well as develop and review our offering to ensure our industry continues to evolve. Awareness continues to grow with our increased course offering, with over 500 new students enrolling in trade qualifications. SPASA added new Building and Landscaping trainers in 2020 – providing additional support for our students.

By the end of 2020, our full scope of qualifications were:

CPC40110 - Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building) CPC40808 - Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Building CPP31218 - Certificate III in Swimming Pool and Spa Service CPP41319 - Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Service 10660NAT - Course in Swimming Pool Safety Inspections (accredited course) AHC30916 - Certificate III in Landscape Construction BSB40215 - Certificate IV in Business BSB50215 - Diploma of Business BSB42015 - Certificate IV in Leadership and Management BSB51918 - Diploma of Leadership and Management BSB42518 - Certificate IV in Small Business BSB40615 - Certificate IV in Business Sales SIR30216 - Certificate III in Retail

In December 2020 a New Pool & Spa Building Qualification (CPC40820) was formally approved by local and federal government with the roll out planned for late 2021. This offers industry an improved learning and more robust licencing pathway. There were some setbacks to education in 2020 due to COVID-19. We could not run our national training calendar workshops as scheduled due to travel and distancing restrictions, however we delivered a free webinar series in business management skills. We successfully fought off a challenge to have the units from the Building and Construction CPC40110 retained in the CPC40808 - Cert IV Swimming Pool and Spa Building qualification. This would have kept our profession from being seen as an equal to other trades.

Over 200 students attended free business webinars in 2020, launched by SPASA during the first of the COVID lockdowns. Our webinars included: Customers First - How to bring this to life? How & Where - to find your potential customers? Workplace Leadership - How do leaders get their message across? Plan to Win - Where to start with Small Business Planning? Recruiting the right team for your business - the X Factor Intelligence vs Emotional Intelligence - What is right for leaders of tomorrow? How to Market the Business to stay in Business The Clear Sales Pitch - Presenting solutions to sell more Is your team effective? - How to lead for results Progressing beyond the start line - Revisit & Refine your business The Importance of Timing - Identifying trends to stay ahead of the pack Leading your team into developing and managing workplace relationships

The new qualification, Certificate IV in Swimming Pool and Spa Building (CPC40820) has direct relevance and appropriate outcomes to the sectors within the swimming pool construction, installation and interior finishing sectors. Our position was accepted by ARTIBUS and ultimately the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC).

In 2020 we successfully applied to the Victorian Building Authority to be an endorsed VBA provider of their course - VBAISP2020 – Barrier Inspections. Enrollment of students commenced after receiving formal notification in September from the VBA, with 95 students completing the qualifications by the end of December.

Also in Victoria, our submission to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) regarding CPD for builders, pool builders and plumbers resulted in the opportunity for pool and spa builders to undertake flexible, no cost and low cost CPD sessions and workshops.

Work has also continued in progressing with qualifications in New Zealand. Last year we engaged with New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) to have our swimming pool service and pool building qualifications recognised, receiving notification that our CPP31218 was awarded equivalency status against NZQA standards. SPASA commissioned Griffith University to author a Discussion Paper on the risk to public safety caused by inadequate pool or spa maintenance last year. This assisted with lobbying local and federal governments about the importance of maintenance during COVID-19.

The Resurg Benchmarking Project also commenced in 2020, this exercise will gather data to set industry wide benchmarks on key metrics that create operational challenges and ultimately competition that will drive increased industry performance.