Painting in China
Australia's economy is increasingly becoming integrated with the world's largest economic powerhouse, and this includes the painting industry. With Australia recently signing a free-trade agreement with China, it's time to explore how this will affect the future of our industry.
Anyone who works in the painting industry in Sydney cannot fail to notice the multi-cultural diversity of workers and businesses. There are now paint stores in Sydney that cater almost exclusively to this market, and Taubmans have translated some of their product information into Chinese. There are thousands of painters from the immigrant Chinese community working in the industry, and this has had a huge impact on existing businesses and the workforce. Many of these painters have had no formal training, and have low literacy and numeracy skills, leading to poor standards of workmanship. Although many people do not equate Chinese workmanship with quality, this has not always been the case.
China has a rich history and appreciation of painting and decorating. Anyone visiting the Forbidden City in Beijing cannot fail to be impressed with the magnificent decorative finishes, which include gilding, complex stencilling and high quality lacquering. Beautiful silk wall-papers have been manufactured in China for hundreds of years, and were sought out by European monarchs in the 19th century for their high quality and distinctly Asian designs.
Examples of traditional Chinese workmanship can even be found in Australia. A visit to the Chinese temple garden in Bendigo, Victoria showcases some of the best Chinese decorative effects.
I recently had an opportunity to visit the Construction Industry Councils Trade Testing facility in Hong Kong, where I was able to engage with my industry counterparts to discuss closer collaboration. I was surprised to learn that there already exists an established apprenticeship system in Hong Kong, and a rigorous training and testing program. Indeed, painters from China competed at the highest level at the Worldskills Competition this year in Brazil.
Apprenticeships in China take 3 years, and licensing will be introduced into the Hong Kong construction industry in 2017. All painters will be required to be tested and qualified, and this will raise the standard of education and workmanship. Painters in Hong Kong learn stencilling, texture coating, wallpapering, lacquering and many of the same skills we do in Australia. The Construction Industry Council is even interested in adapting and trialing the on-line apprenticeship system developed in Australia by the National Institute of Painting and Decorating.
With the signing of the free trade agreement Chinese construction companies will be able to import labor from China to work on large projects in Australia. The National Institute of Painting and Decorating is working with Austrade and the Department of Immigration to ensure that adequate skills assessment is conducted for any short term visa applicants.
By forming closer ties with the painting industry in China we hope to not only improve the quality of training in China, but also use this as a catalyst to help the thousands of Chinese speaking painters in Australia receive proper training and meet the Australian standards for quality and safety.
