Apprentice top in Manawatu¯
A Marton man has risen victorious as the best building apprentice in Manawatu¯.
Four men competed for the title of best Manawatu¯ building apprentice at UCOL on Saturday, but only one could be named the victor.
Taking on the New Zealand Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge, the men were tasked with completing a technically challenging picnic table over eight hours, putting their skills to the test in a high-pressure environment.
The design plans, which were revealed one week ahead of the competition, required proficiency in a raft of carpentry skills, with a focus on attention to detail, time management, and health and safety.
Using materials provided by ITM, each picnic table had to meet minimum safety standards to complete the project.
Craig Whitton, NZCB regional association president for Manawatu¯, said the challenge tested how well the new generation of builders were absorbing their training in a fun, pressured environment.
‘‘It is a fun challenge. It’s about how they use their gear, how they think about health and safety, are they thinking about the design, how the end is going to look, the measurements, not only on paper but on the job as well.
‘‘It’s putting the skills together that they’ve learned and getting their accuracy and the ability to compete, rather just on site.’’
Harrison Gillard, from Craig’s Building in Marton, thought he was out of the running when he realised his table was 20 millimetres short of the brief, but in a shocking win for him, he came out on top.
The 18-year-old watched as the hours ticked over, and as the end of the competition drew closer he knew he’d started to make mistakes. ‘‘It was stressful. It’s hard out. When everyone comes in, and it starts, you look around and think, ‘oh he’s ahead of me’.
‘‘I had everything prepared, but it was still really hard to get everything right, I’ve never built anything like this before. I thought it was over then, I’m just really surprised.’’
UCOL construction programme leader David Freebairn said the competition was so close the judges didn’t have an inkling of who had won until the points were added up. Gillard will go on to represent Manawatu¯ in the finals of the national NZCB Apprentice Challenge in Wellington in June, but for now he’s just happy he won.