Boss built for the role
AS FAR NORTH REGIONAL MANAGER OF MASTER BUILDERS QUEENSLAND, SHARON VELLA WANTS TO BRING SOME GENDER DIVERSITY TO THE INDUSTRY WHILE ALSO DOING HER BEST FOR MEMBERS, WRITES ALICIA NALLY
THE daughter of a builder, Sharon Vella hasn’t fallen far from the proverbial tree.
Starting as the Far North regional manager of Master Builders Queensland in October last year, Ms Vella came into the role hoping to bring more gender balance into the traditionally blokey construction industry.
Starting as a membership development executive with the organisation four years ago, the 44-year-old’s rise into management has been fuelled by a sharp focus and desire to make members proud of their region and their profession.
“You always decide to move up in the world and this job came up and I thought I’d go for it,” Ms Vella said.
“I also wanted to shake it up with a bit of gender diversity and that has been very well-received in the office. So, hats off to the blokes.
“I want members to be proud and I want them to see value in their membership. I want them to know Master Builders is here to help them.
“All our regional offices suffer from being tarnished with the same brush but everyone, even people working in the bush, have to realise there is legislation to comply with, whether that is contracts or safety.”
Female tradies is also an issue she has “closely followed” and the sisterhood is strong.
“We can do it 99 per cent of the time just as well as a man can,” Ms Vella said.
From Parramatta in Western Sydney, Ms Vella said the building industry never left her after collecting plenty of happy memories of her father’s career through childhood.
“If you can think back as children, it is just something we were heavily involved in,” she explained.
But would the mother-oftwo build her own home?
“No” came the emphatic answer.
“I haven’t built a house. I don’t want to. It’s too hard, I just buy them ready to go,” she laughed. “We have renovated, I think that’s the closest we’ve got.”
Ms Vella is also keen to see some education around better building design in the Far North.
“We need to think about airflow, the size of windows, the width of eaves. We can’t just do a copy of what everyone else is doing because the rain will come in or the amount of sun we get is a problem,” she said.
“Some builders here have taken out green awards because they have considered
FROM PARRAMATTA IN WESTERN SYDNEY, MS VELLA SAID THE BUILDING INDUSTRY NEVER LEFT HER AFTER COLLECTING PLENTY OF HAPPY MEMORIES OF HER FATHER’S CAREER THROUGH CHILDHOOD.
that. When you look at first homeowners entering into the market they’re purely looking at price point and they won’t pay a little bit more for the longer eaves. It’s not builders we need to educate, it is maybe education for the general public that is needed.”
After leaving school and studying health and management, Ms Vella found the job market difficult to crack with her qualifications when she moved north.
“When I came to Queensland there was just nothing in those fields, so I went back to school and studied interior de- sign,” she said. “I got work designing furniture with a commercial furniture specialist and became a furniture expert. From there I moved to Tosco Office National where I worked as an office design con- sultant and as a commercial machines and office needs account manager.”
And, after almost a decade in the tropics, Ms Vella admits she could never return south.
“I love the people and the laid-back community,” she said. “And 2019 is set to be the year of change in the building and construction industry, with complex legislation changes and the tightening in lending. But I don’t think the changes will slow us down one bit.
“We are very lucky to have that growth and diversity. Renovations are going well, it is just the new builds we need.”
The answer to that, Ms Vella believes, is government stimulus measures.
“We need to bring back the financial boost for regional first homeowners. We’ve been talking to government about that but there has been no feedback,” she said.
“And all the changes will have an impact on industry – there is going to be an increase in administration, builders are going to struggle.
“Then July 1 the waste levy is coming in and that’s something else on top of the rest. The election will be called and then it’ll be a different set of rules.”
WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THAT GROWTH AND DIVERSITY. RENOVATIONS ARE GOING WELL, IT IS JUST THE NEW BUILDS WE NEED. SHARON VELLA