Apprentice builds winning career
Sam Faid was dubbed a no hoper when he dropped out of high school early.
Four years later, the 20-year-old Christchurch man has built a promising career, dodged a student loan and has plans to design and construct his own ‘‘unique and funky’’ home.
Faid won the central South Island regional carpentry apprentice of the year awards on Thursday night. It proved pride and ownership of your work and a drive to succeed could be just as important as a university qualification, he said.
‘‘There’s a lot of pressure to stay in college and when I said I wanted to leave it was massively frowned upon, they said: only dumb people leave and you’re not dumb, but that just gave me motivation.’’ Faid, the youngest of five siblings, said his mother was a keen renovator but he was the first builder in the family.
She came to the awards night with him and his boss, Jina Andrews. When second place was announced – Aidan Brewer – they thought it was all over.
‘‘It was a real shock to win, pretty awesome really. I just wasn’t expecting that at all.’’
He encouraged youngsters to ‘‘find something to be passionate about and just go for it’’.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to be hands on and in a job that’s outside – I just couldn’t be inside an office all day, that’s not me. Everyone needs a handyman, plus there’s no student loan involved and you start earning and learning straight away,’’ he said.
Some builds were ‘‘always going to go better than others’’ but there was no feeling quite like turning a barren piece of land into a family home with all the add-ons, including a white picket fence, he said. He hoped to qualify by the end of the year.
As the regional champion, Faid will go to the national competition in Auckland in November, participate in a special Outward Bound course, get tools and trade products from leading companies, and get $2000 to spend at Carters.
Event organisers said the competition highlighted ‘‘the urgent need for more apprentices’’, and celebrated the future leaders of the industry.
‘‘I want to be in the industry for a long time – until my body can’t keep up,’’ Faid said.