Josh Jarvis, Vishal (Muks) Toitoi, and Luke MacGibbon. Photo / Supplied
Construction is in Luke MacGibbon’s blood.
Coming from a family of skilled builders who inspired him from a young age, the 34-year-old is now the proud owner of 90 Degrees Construction.
MacGibbon’s story comes as one of New Zealand’s leading trade training organisations says while the number of apprentices on its books was growing, “tens of thousands” more were needed to meet the long-term needs of the country’s construction pipeline.
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology was expecting between 500 and 550 building and construction students across its Tauranga and Rotorua campuses this year.
MacGibbon said he had always been involved in the building sector.
“It sounds cheesy, but I think it is in my blood,” he said.
“My opa was a very talented cabinet maker and my father was a very fussy builder. I used to work with dad on the tools throughout the school holidays, when he was contracting to Edinbridge Resources, and they took me on as an apprentice once I finished sixth form [Year 12].”
At Edinbridge Resources, MacGibbon learned how to price jobs and how building contracts worked during his apprenticeship. This, alongside working as a sole trader and taking on leadership positions on-site, helped him start his business.
MacGibbon said he and his wife Alex got together quite young and had always been an ambitious couple.
“Alex worked in a corporate job at the time, and we always discussed putting our skills together and starting a business. An opportunity for our first client came up in 2016, and we decided it was ‘now or never’.”
Since founding 90 Degrees Construction, MacGibbon has trained about 10 apprentices and he said it was a genuine privilege to pass on his knowledge and skill set to the next generation.
“We all know the position New Zealand is in when it comes to a lack of housing, and I think builders should feel compelled to support the next generation coming through. There is also much to be said for training someone up to your expected level of quality. I put it down to forming good habits from the beginning, which you can help create.”
In 2009 during his apprenticeship, MacGibbon was encouraged by his employer to enter Master Builders’ Apprentice of the Year and ended up winning the regional competition.
Since then, he has put several of his own apprentices through the competition, including Vishal (Muks) ToiToi and Josh Jarvis, who placed first and third at the 2022 Bay of Plenty/Central Plateau regional event.
MacGibbon said he had learned a lot as an employer and adapted the way he taught based on the personalities he was dealing with.
“To be honest, it has been a journey. I think I will be forever trying to understand this new wave of young people entering the workforce, and how different things are compared to when I came through my apprenticeship.”
However, he said, for the most part, they just need to be given confidence and opportunities to develop. “Consistent communication and showing appreciation with pizza nights and the odd fishing trip also help.”
Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) had 1350 apprentices on its books in the Bay of Plenty. At the same time in the previous year, there were 1157, and for the same period two years ago there were 981.
Te Pūkenga director Jason Hungerford said the figures showed BCITO apprentice numbers were continuing to increase in the region.
But, he said, it was clear more apprentices were needed to deliver the homes and buildings New Zealand needed “even more so given the recent weather events”.
“It is tricky to put an exact number on this, but we need to train tens of thousands of people over the longer term if we are going to meet the long-term needs of Aotearoa’s construction pipeline.
“We also need to make sure we have replacements skills for those who are leaving the workforce, which will be a challenge many industries face in the coming years.”
Hungerford said the building and construction industry was a great career option for anyone.
“Our people have good pay, great work-life balance, and a strong sense of accomplishment knowing you have made an important and lasting contribution to our communities.
“There are also many different opportunities and a number of career pathways within the sector, including construction management or business ownership if that’s the goal.”
Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga Primary Industries Trades and Infrastructure faculty dean Brian Dillon said the institute was expecting between 500 and 550 ākonga (students) in building and construction courses at a variety of levels across its campuses this year.
Dillon said while that was a decrease compared to previous years for full-time students, interest in part-time study and training had increased.
“We attribute this to a number of factors, including a strong job market, especially in the Western Bay; the ending of the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund (TTAF), and the continuation of the Apprenticeship Boost.”
The Apprenticeship Boost was a payment of about $500 a month made directly to employers to help them keep and take on new apprentices and was available until the end of December 2023.
TTAF was a Government Initiative introduced as a way to provide free courses to support industries that were expected to grow in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and this initiative has now ended, he said.
“We’ve seen some growth in our apprenticeship programme, and year-on-year increases in the number of secondary students engaging with us through the Futures Academy.”
Dillon said, despite talks of a pending recession, a lot of builders Toi Ohomai works with, have strong pipelines of work and many were committed to continuing training apprentices.
“Indications are there will now be a lot of work needing to be done to support the cyclone recovery effort.
“The full-time programmes help prepare people to enter the industry and are a good way for someone wanting to develop core skills.
“These graduates are seen as valuable to employers too, as they can employ someone who already has those base skills and work habits.”
Dillon said the course success rate was about 80 per cent, and the key to success was strong pathways and industry connections.
“We have developed strong pathways from Futures Academy, right through to Diploma qualifications (Construction Management, Quantity Surveying, Architectural Technology), with the Level 3 Construction Trades Skills, the Level 4 Apprenticeship, and the Level Construction Supervisor programmes playing key roles in this pathway approach too.”
Classic Group director Matt Lagerberg said it understood from its pool of subcontractors the number of apprentices had increased in the last few years.
“This will be partially driven by market conditions with demand for residential and commercial construction being high and the current workforce not being able to meet that demand.”
Lagerberg said there were multiple reasons why there was a need to encourage people to join a trade as well as encourage business owners to take on apprentices.
“For one, there is a significant housing shortage that isn’t going to go away any time soon, and with New Zealand’s population forecasted to increase by eight to 30 per cent by 2048, this is only going to increase unless we can build faster and a healthy supply of skilled labour.
“We need to invest in apprentices now to help support the next market boom that will inevitably come.
“Interestingly at an international level, we understand that for every one person joining the construction industry, five people are leaving, which is a concern for future industry growth here in New Zealand.”
Lagerberg said he was sure its subcontractors would find the relationship between local building companies and training organisations such as BCITO and Toi Ohomai “extremely important”.
They were effectively recruiting and helping train their future employees “something they don’t have the time and resources to do”.
The Classic Group was involved in Tauranga Boys’ College’s programme that supports secondary school pupils interested in learning about the trades.
“We need to continue to invest in creating our future tradies now to meet future housing demand.”
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