Retiring HIA Managing Director Graham Wolfe said goodbye to HIA and the housing industry last month after 45 years of tireless work for an industry he loves.
Graham’s distinguished career in the building industry started when he left school, joining HIA in the late 1990s after taking on a technical role. He went on to represent HIA on a wide range of committees including state advisory councils and building code and standards committees.
In 2018 he was appointed Managing Director, a role he now hands over to Jocelyn Martin as the new HIA Managing Director.
‘HIA has offered me so many opportunities and great scope to learn,’ said Graham. ‘We have extraordinarily good teams at HIA. It’s a fantastic association; it really is a family.’
From early in his career, Graham recognised that mentoring the next generation of apprentices and trades was a key step in maintaining the professionalism of the industry. ‘The industry relies on the passing of information backwards and forwards,’ he said. ‘I had help from well-respected and knowledgeable people when I was younger, and so I’ve tried to pass on what I know to others.’
With a diverse career path, Jocelyn Martin steps into the HIA Managing Director’s role with a wealth of experience having worked for HIA since 2014. ‘What attracted me to HIA was the strong sense of advocacy,’ she reveals. ‘After working in the education sector, this was a familiar space to be in. But it was a lovely surprise to see how we capture member views and develop policy. This aspect of the Association is so important.’
Jocelyn’s focus will be on maintaining engagement across the various sectors within the housing and building industries to ensure HIA continues to meet the needs of the residential building industry.
‘We need to ensure we are developing policies and approaches to advocacy that hit the mark and benefit the sector as a whole,’ she says. ‘We also want to understand the pain points in business so we can better support our members and help them to reduce their risks.’
Furthermore, Jocelyn intends to ensure HIA plays a central role in innovating, responding to trends and influences, and supporting connections and relationships within the industry. ‘If we can maintain our reputation as a respected and influential authority, and appeal to new generations and a broader component of the industry, I will be very satisfied.’
For more information visit hia.com.au/
