More than nine in 10 New Zealand drivers whose vehicles have touchscreens say they have been distracted using them, according to a survey that raises questions about whether screen-heavy car interiors are competing with the road for drivers’ attention. A poll by fleet safety company AutoSense found 93% of respondents had experienced touchscreen distraction. Almost […]

Construction costs have edged higher again, even though the price of GIB and some other commonly used materials has come down. QV CostBuilder’s latest update shows trade rates rose by an average of 0.2% in September, with a wide spread of individual product movements pulling costs in different directions. GIB falls, other lines rise The […]

Years spent gaming may be giving some young New Zealanders an unexpected head start in the modern trades, as automation, robotics and digital technology transform traditional workplaces. Industry training organisation Competenz has coined the term Joystick Trades after hearing the same story from apprentices across the more than 30 sectors it supports – young people […]

A Martinborough home set in an olive grove and a builder’s own home on a steep Roseneath site took the top awards in this year’s Master Builders House of the Year competition for Wellington and Wairarapa. Nine homes won Gold, from Wellington’s harbour hills to the Kāpiti Coast and the Wairarapa, and four of them […]

It’s satisfying to stand back from a finished job knowing you did it yourself. It might be a rebuilt deck, a repainted fence or a tiled splashback that turned out better than expected. New Zealanders have built something of a national identity around this instinct. Give it a go, work it out, save the call-out […]

The announcement of nine new industry-led subjects for senior secondary students is exactly the kind of bold, forward-looking move New Zealand’s education system needs. Construction and Built Environment, Applied Intelligent Systems and the rest of the list will give young people genuine, curriculum-integrated pathways into industries that are crying out for skilled workers. Skills Group […]