The format of the AGM has changed gradually over time, and has for some years included an industry dinner event at the close of the day. Last year, a series of ‘Break-out’ meetings were held for the first time, providing valuable discussion and feedback on a number of topics.
The aim of the Association Day is to gain further advantage from the opportunities offered by having a large contingent of PLASA members, plus the PLASA Executive Committee and head office staff, together in one place. Rather than concentrate on the AGM itself - a legal formality - the emphasis has now been shifted fully to making the day an ‘event’ in pleasant surroundings, with opportunties for communication, debate, suggestions and networking.
This year’s break-out meetings covered Membership Services, Standards/Health & Safety and Training. These lively sessions raised valuable feedback for the PLASA Executive Committee and staff, and were well-received by all who took part.
Following the ‘business’ of the day, around 100 people sat down to an enjoyable dinner with entertainment provided by two guest speakers - ex-pro footballer Paul Fletcher and impressionist Kevin Connelly - before retiring to the bar for some serious networking.
PLASA’s managing director Matthew Griffiths commented: "We have aimed to provide far more value than a straightforward AGM, by taking the opportunity to discuss real issues and gain vital feedback from our members. I am very pleased with the response, and would like to thank all those who took part for their time - it really is valuable to us."
Giving his final AGM report as chairman of PLASA, Mick Hannaford acknowledged that economic conditions had been tough over the past year, but that it was important that the Association continued to move forward in terms of its membership services and its increased commitment in the areas of health and safety and training. He then took the opportunity to introduce the two newest members of PLASA’s head office team, health and safety officer Ron Bonner and training and development manager Nicky Greet.
Next year, PLASA will be looking to build further on the success of the Association Day, and all members will be encouraged to attend and benefit from the opportunities offered.
Ideas for the format of the Association Day, or feedback on any of the issues raised during the Break-out meetings should be e-mailed to helen@plasa.org
Break-out break-downs...
Standards / Health & Safety:
This session began with Tim Cox giving a brief outline of the role of the Standards Office as a member service, and introducing Health & Safety officer Ron Bonner. Points discussed included the preferred format of information provided by the Standards Office; the possibility of providing discounted EMC testing services for members or helping to provide DTI grants to help meet the cost of testing; providing access to standards working groups outside of PLASA’s immediate sphere, e.g. the construction industry; the provision of information on international health and safety requirements and, finally, the level of interest in Standards-related seminars, conferences and events.
Training & Development:
This session aimed to outline some of the broad issues of the industry’s training requirements. Among the needs identified were: clear guidance on career progression routes and the necessary training; a structured system of certification for industry-specific skills-based courses; collation of currently available skills-based training courses; business and management-related courses with an industry-specific slant; a guidance pack to help companies identify their own training requirements, and gu
