NOVEMBER APPRENTICE OF THE MONTH

Apprentice finds success avoiding rush hour

Elisa Fisher, a first-year painting and decorating apprentice from Hamilton, had to think outside the box to tackle a big project, working after peak tradie times to get the job done.

“My project was to paint inside a huge apartment complex with over 300 workers, along with cranes, and big truck and tractor units moving in and out 24/7. It was almost impossible to move in there, so it would have been a pretty stressful way to work, and I didn’t want my newly painted walls to get ruined!”

Seeing as booting the other tradies out wasn’t an option, Elisa waited until many of them had left before she’d start her work.

“Staying late turned out to be ideal. Fewer people and bits of machinery around created more clear space, so it was a lot more relaxed, with less things for me to bang into and fewer people to lean on my freshly painted walls!

“I learned that sometimes you just need to do what needs to be done –I enjoyed working with the clear space to do it well, and the finished work turned out great, so I call that a win-win!”