FCANZ is delighted to announce that the first Accredited Fencing Contractor on-site audits will take place around the North Island this month.
The individual Certified Fencer endorsement and Accredited Fencing Contractor business-level endorsement will raise the profile of fencing as a trade that widely commits to best-practice project delivery and business processes.
Over the years, the industry has faced significant challenges in the education space, from Industry Training Organisations folding and all records being unavailable, to system failures leading to the loss of records. FCANZ President Phil Cornelius says, “These situations have been hugely frustrating not only for the person who has put in all the hard work and literally has nothing to show for it, but for us as an Association. It’s really limited our ability to deliver consistent industry endorsements”.
After a long hiatus, the Association endorsements have been re-framed, and the new Accredited Fencing Contractor and Certified Fencer endorsements created. The initial application and assessment requirements are robust, and the re-assessment procedures are clear. FCANZ is confident that this new structure will ensure a consistent quality of fencer and fencing business across each of the endorsement levels. The previous endorsements that were issued a significant number of years ago by the Association were not maintained
“ As a Board, we 100% believe the Accredited Fencing Contractor endorsement is in the best interests of our members and the industry, and so we’re prepared to contribute financially to make sure it’s available to all of our members – regardless of where they are based and have all lapsed, meaning that the appropriate solution was the creation of updated endorsements.
“I’ve been fencing for decades – I don’t need a piece of paper to prove I’m good” is something we frequently hear. We agree most of our members are excellent fencers and probably great business owners. The key is that the FCANZ endorsements are not for the benefit of other fencers. An average customer doesn’t know a good fencer from a poor fencer when in the initial selection stages. This is particularly apparent when the customer is a large organisation with a tender process. Having the endorsement allows FCANZ members to prove their expertise in a comparatively unregulated industry.
Members should also note that the Association does not financially benefit from the delivery of the endorsements. Indeed, it is often the opposite, with auditing costs being subsidised by the Association. The fees an applicant pays for the Accredited Fencing Contractor endorsement contribute to the cost of getting an auditor to site.
“As a Board, we 100% believe the Accredited Fencing Contractor endorsement is in the best interests of our members and the industry, and so we’re prepared to contribute financially to make sure it’s available to all of our members – regardless of where they are based,” says Phil.
As the national industry body, FCANZ will reach out later this year to each local and regional council around New Zealand to promote endorsed members and the level of confidence the endorsements can bring to their selection processes. The focus will be on education, including what ‘good’ looks like and how choosing the lowest price is not always the most cost-effective decision. Phil adds, “We’re playing the long game here for the good of our members and the industry. It’s time to weed out the cowboys undercutting us all and support those who consistently do great work.”
Currently, the endorsements are heavily focused on rural fencing, the sector that many of our members are involved in. However, both the Level 4 Certificate in Fencing and the Endorsements can be adjusted relatively easily to meet the needs of other sectors/types of fencing, particularly residential and security fencing.
We look forward to announcing our new Accredited Fencing Contractors in due course.
For more information on the Certificates in Fencing and the FCANZ endorsements, head to www.fcanz.org.nz/training.
Written by Jaime Bigwood
Published in WIRED issue 76/March 2025 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
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