RFUANZ report: setting our sights on 2024

The Radio Frequency Users Association of New Zealand (RFUANZ) celebrated its 25th year running recently, and we owe a big thanks to our members, partners and sponsors, plus everyone who has supported the radio frequency industry of New Zealand. We have come such a long way in such a short amount of time but there are still a few hurdles to jump.

For some time now we have identified that the telecommunications industry is rapidly moving towards a crisis in the availability of skilled radio technicians. What RFUANZ wants to see is a formal career pathway for new people entering the workforce and a foundation course for existing staff who have no formal training but want to gain their qualification.

With this in mind we have been supporting industry training provider E-tec for the past few years in their development of a Level 4 qualification that’s suitable for training radio technicians for the radio industry. We are thrilled to welcome all personnel into this course, and with rolling enrolments open as of October 2023 you can join any time!

In our eyes the availability of a suitable training course is paramount for the future of our industry, and while that was a major milestone for our 2023, we remained busy in other sectors as well.

Engaging with our membership has been a big point of focus. We introduced a photo competition to increase engagement online (keep an eye out for this year’s entries and winners!) — this also allowed a personalised RFUANZ calendar to be sent out at Christmas. We are also working on new initiatives to bring our members and industry leaders together (currently this only happens at our AGM).

And of course, there was a lot of admin… The new Incorporated Society rules are changing and so we too must adapt. This is a meticulous process, but we will have an update and changes to our rules ready for discussion at this year’s AGM.

Last year saw the implementation of a few things and the maintenance of others, but our sights are set on an engaging 2024! We aim to see and hear from our membership more often, creating scenarios where this can happen. We hope to improve our industry relationships to better support those without a voice of their own, and most importantly, we strive to protect, promote and preserve the radio frequency industry of New Zealand for years to come.

We wish you a happy 2024 full of success and look forward to seeing you at our Annual Gala Dinner and Awards Night in June.

Ngā mihi Nui.

Justin Wonderlick, Chairman — ARE182, Radio Frequency Users Association of New Zealand.

Top image credit: iStock.com/Chonlatee Sangsawang