OCTOBER APPRENTICE OF THE MONTH

Second-year apprentice tackles big renovation job with client as hammer-hand

Conrad Kotze, a second-year apprentice from Wellington, was given the opportunity to manage the work on site for a week when his boss had other commitments. Not only that – the client was on site too to give Conrad a hand!.

Conrad explains that between them, they had to do some big structural jobs.

“We had to plant piles and build bearers to name just a couple of the big tasks,” says Conrad.

Managing the job for a week meant Conrad had to take on more organisational responsibility than he had before.

“I had to make key decisions, including ordering the right amount of concrete. I double-checked my maths, that’s for sure! Then I had to get all the gear and do the job up to my boss’ standards!”

Conrad says that he overcame this challenge by making sure he knew what was expected of him and by communicating clearly with the owner while working alongside him, so that they were both on the same page.

“The client and I worked well together, so we made good progress every day. To make sure I was getting things right, I reported back to my boss each day with photos of the work we’d done.”

Conrad explained the client was happy that work continued even when Conrad’s boss couldn’t be there.

“Keeping on with the job meant that the work got done and it was all ready for my boss to continue with the next phase when he arrived the following week.”

Conrad learnt a lot when he took on a challenge of being in charge on site.

“It was good not having the boss around, so I could take on more responsibility, and I found out that I had picked up skills that I wasn’t even aware of”.