Second time’s a charm for Master Builders regional winner Adam Gaskin

After making it to the regional finals of the Registered Master Builders Apprentice of the Year competition in 2007, Adam Gaskin’s decision to “give it another crack” in 2008 paid off.

At an awards ceremony in Wellington in early October, Adam was announced as the 2008 Wellington region winner, beating 135 other apprentices for the title.

“I was stoked, to say the least,” he says. “The 10 finalists go into the town hall on the evening not knowing where they’re going to come. I was surprised and happy that I managed to get the number one spot.”

The finalists for the Apprentice of the Year competition go through a rigorous judging process that includes submitting a portfolio of their work, and a 30 to 45-minute interview with a panel of judges. The judges also visit the contestants on-site and examine their work.

“The project that I submitted was a 296 square metre, architecturally designed house, which I was the foreman on. It had quite a complex design with a series of single-pitched roofs and exposed macrocarpa beams, which meant all your work was on display and allowed no room for error. I was really pleased with how it turned out and I think the owners were too.”

With a carpentry apprenticeship behind him, Adam Gaskin says the sky’s the limit

In 2004, Adam Gaskin found a company in the Wairarapa to take him on as a carpentry apprentice, and enrolled in a National Certificate in Carpentry with the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO). The apprenticeship training was predominantly on the job but also involved bookwork and the occasional night class.

Having finished his apprenticeship, Adam says the mentoring he received throughout was invaluable. “I had two main overseers who helped me during my apprenticeship. The company I work for is not only involved in residential building but commercial as well, so I’ve picked up a variety of skills.”

Adam has put some of those skills to use renovating a house he bought in Masterton when he started his apprenticeship. “It’s taken up a lot of my time after work and in the weekends over the last four years but we’re coming to the end of fully renovating it interiorly and exteriorly. Being able to do the work yourself is very satisfying and saves you a lot of money on labour.”
 
Now that Adam is a fully qualified carpenter, he can look forward to the future. “Building-wise, hopefully I’ll be working for myself one day. Having my own building team and being able to work for myself – that’s my ultimate goal.”