QUALIFIED AND KANEING IT

Our apprentice column provides an opportunity for PAC members to share their views, experiences and ideas, while providing insight for builders who employ them. This month’s question is:

Q: What was key to successfully completing your apprenticeship?

Newly qualified builder Kane Nisbet reflects on the challenges of his apprenticeship, and how a great mentor, an understanding employer and PAC helped secure his success

Recent carpentry graduate Kane Nisbet works for Kane Building Group in Auckland. While the shared name is just a coincidence, Kane likes to run with it when the opportunity arises.

“Sometimes people think I own the business, and I like to play on that as a bit of a laugh. It’s even easier to do that now as, since graduating, I’ve received a company van, which has my name on  the side in big orange letters!”

Graduating with a New Zealand Certificate in Carpentry (Level 4), Kane won PlaceMakers Apprentice of the Month three times during the four years of his apprenticeship, a goal that kept him on his toes.

“Knowing that my work is going to be assessed and that I could win the award motivated me to keep my standards high. It’s made me a better builder and it’s been great to be recognised for my hard work.”

Kane has also seen other benefits to being part of the PlaceMakers Apprentice Crew.

“It’s useful to read about other apprentices’ experiences to help confirm I’m on the right track. Also, it’s not cheap to kit yourself out with a full-blown set of quality tools, so the discounts are a real help, and the prizes even more so.”

Kane at work on the first build he’s been
fully responsible for

Thinking about his time as an apprentice, a couple of things stand out for Kane – at the top of the list is his mentor, experienced builder Jason Williamson.

“I’m so grateful to have had Jason’s help during my apprenticeship. He really went out of his way and I don’t think that is always the case for apprentices – I’ve learned so much from him.

“I would love to be able to give back and pass on knowledge and skills to apprentices in the same way.”

Kane is also grateful to his employer, who allowed him the time to do his bookwork during the working week.

“With a four-year-old and a one-year-old, it was a struggle to study at home in the evenings,” he says.

A key learning Kane is taking with him from his time as an apprentice is to get the right answer.

“I firmly believe that you should always ask questions, but you also need to do your own work to get the right answer – for example, you’re best to read the manufacturer’s instructions on how to  use a product before asking other builders how they use it.”

Kane has also enjoyed an aspect of being an apprentice that he didn’t anticipate liking quite so much: “it turns out I like being thrown in the deep end. It sounds stressful and I can’t say I love stress, but I love the responsibility of it”.

While he’s just graduated and now has his name on the new company vehicle, he’s not sitting back just yet: “my wife works for a real estate company and they’re looking for a handyman, so I’m going to start my own small company for that, just a day a fortnight, and take a supervisor’s course through BCITO”.

“I want to continue to develop my skills, and even though I like to joke about owning the company, I’m very happy where I am, so I see myself staying right here and keeping on doing what I’m doing.”