Contracts Manager and a Director at JK Williams, Scott Hartog, is Vice President of CCF NSW and he speaks very highly of his colleagues on the Board.
“It is an honour to be there and, when you look around the room, there are some very impressive people alongside you.
“It’s a privilege to work with them,” he says.
Scott says he put his hand up to join and then help lead the Board because he wants to help direct the industry and he’s got some goals for what he’d like to achieve.
“Trying to get fairer conditions and contracts for contractors is one of the things that I’m passionate about.
“I think there’s a lot of contracts and expectations in the market that, because the client cannot quantify the risk, then the contractor should assume it,” he says.
This expectation can lead to significant issues for contractors.
Preventing these sorts of problems takes good advocacy and Scott sees that as one of CCF NSW’s greatest strengths.
“When you say ‘CCF went and spoke to the minister,’ it doesn’t sound very exciting.
“But I see that as one of the most important things CCF does: the advocacy on behalf of the industry to help guide the industry into a better place,” he says.
Noting that advocacy is not the most exciting topic or easily translated to a tangible benefit, Scott acknowledges the wins are slow, often invisible, and take a lot of work.
But it’s that work that shapes the industry.
The “invisible” wins are when bad policy doesn’t happen.
CCF does a lot of submissions and advocacy work in the background to try and get the best outcome.
“I think it is a very important part of what CCF does.
“Without CCF representing the industry at that level, civil contractors would not be represented, and policy is made on those submissions,” he says.
“And the more people that get behind and get involved with the CCF, the stronger that it can be and that advocacy position gets stronger as well,” he says.
Scott brings a perspective to his role on the Board that helps him identify with members when making decisions.
“I’ve lived civil construction most of my life and come from a family business myself.
“Civil contractors and CCF members aren’t generally large listed corporate entities.
“Most civil contractors are privately owned family businesses.
“I know what that means for a lot of members and their families,” he says.
He’s also got a long-term connection with the CCF itself.
“I’ve been involved with CCF, on and off, for a number of years in varying ways.
“My dad was on the Board for a while and we’ve been a member for over 45 years.
“So, plenty of CCF events and awards nights, I’ve still got a pre-super league State of Origin jersey from one of those nights,” he says.
Throughout that time, Scott notes that what keeps him in civil construction has remained the same.
“It’s always been a thing that’s pretty simple, we turn up to a site, where there’s probably not a lot going on, and then we leave it in a better, improved state.
“There’s a tangible outcome, there’s a thing that we provide for the client and community at the end of it,” he says.
“I’ve worked across the industry in very interesting sites.
“Theres been some interesting engineering projects and some significant environmental remediation and improvement projects, all very rewarding knowing that we’ve overcome some complex engineering challenges and made a difference.
“The projects just keep getting bigger and bigger and it’s always a new challenge on a new day,” he says.