On yer trike – young “future-builders” tackle the 2023 Great Apprentice Race!
June, 2023
One of the highlights of the NZCB Conference each year is the time and energy devoted to highlighting young builders, and this year’s event was no exception.
In late May, Christchurch welcomed New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) members, along with a group of talented apprentices who were up for the challenge of taking on the annual Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race (GAR).
This year, 22 bright, up and coming builders were tasked with designing and then quickly building a working trike and trailer from scratch using common building materials.
The concept was presented to the GAR participants the night before the competition, leaving little time for the pairs of bright young builders to design their trikes, build them by lunchtime the following day and then race them, with additional challenges thrown in along the way!
Egged on and encouraged by Mitre 10 icon, Stan Scott, all the Mitre 10 Great Apprentice Race participants displayed enterprise, skills and ingenuity.
But someone has to win, and the top contestants for 2023 were Jordan Gush of Straight Forward Building Solutions (Wellington) and Jack Johnston of Naylor Love (Dunedin).
Close behind were Mainlanders Charlette Bone of Tasman Homes (Nelson) and Nina Griffiths from Chatterton Builders (Canterbury), who also won the Design portion of the GAR.
The final podium finishers for 2023 were central North Island duo Daniel Merwyn from Wade Construction (Taupo) and Kevin Fu of Reliable Homes (Waikato).
For their part, Mitre 10 NZ are pleased to once again partner with NZCB in highlighting and encouraging New Zealand’s emerging builders.
“Mitre 10 are proud to continue to support NZCB and the Great Apprentice Race every year, It is great to see the talent that is being fostered through NZCB members – and there is no doubt that the building industry continues to grow stronger through the relationships that are formed at these events.”
For its part, NZCB is happy to acknowledge Mitre 10’s support:
“Every year the level of support and commitment from Mitre 10 just gets better and better and it’s the apprentices who benefit from their generous sponsorship, “I am grateful to Mitre 10 and their ongoing partnership with NZCB in supporting the next generation of carpenters and future NZCB members.”
Nick, who facilitated this year’s GAR, alongside Mitre 10’s Roz Harvey and Rob MacGregor.
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