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Through on-the-job training and regular guidance, BCITO is developing tomorrow’s skilled workforce, creating futures for dedicated tradies alongside industry employers. Ben O’Connell spoke with BCITO director Greg Durkin about building the people who build New Zealand. With over 25 years of experience in vocational education, Greg strongly advocates for the positive outcomes education can deliver […]
Through on-the-job training and regular guidance, BCITO is developing tomorrow’s skilled workforce, creating futures for dedicated tradies alongside industry employers. Ben O’Connell spoke with BCITO director Greg Durkin about building the people who build New Zealand.
With over 25 years of experience in vocational education, Greg strongly advocates for the positive outcomes education can deliver for employers, industries, learners, and whanau. A long-time expert and leader in the field, Greg started as a flooring contractor before heading to university, where he honed his focus on educational psychology and vocational learning.
Since early in his career, Greg has always been interested in how people make sense of the world, particularly the construction world. He fondly recalls when flooring clients would leave in the morning and come home later that day astounded at all the work done.
Apprenticeships aren’t just about developing knowledge and practising skills but also about learning how that role meets society’s needs. Greg says the equation for success is simple. “Quality materials plus quality people equals the client’s dreams coming true. It doesn’t matter if it’s a commercial building or a new kitchen. Human talent and great materials get the job done.”
BCITO today has over 16,000 apprenticeships nationwide. “All of these people are on a journey, from unskilled to skilled, unknowing to knowing, less capable to very capable.” Along the way, apprentices are inducted into the industry’s culture. Soon enough, they can take raw materials, combine them with their knowledge and skills, and meet the needs of clients in our communities.
And the culture has surely changed. Greg says it’s a more sophisticated, open, and diverse culture than it once was. It helps that Aotearoa is one of the world’s most diverse nations, but specific to the industry, diversity can mean embracing immigration, varied work practices and innovative products. BCITO works hard to ensure it stays on the pulse of growth.
“The home that we build today is vastly different from the one we built even a couple of years ago,” Greg says. New technologies, thermal performance and building envelope expectations, product types, and homeowner expectations are just a few of the changes. Commercial building owners have increased expectations thanks to the improved nature and quality of materials, as well as the enhanced workforce.
“I unashamedly take great pride in saying that New Zealand has one of the most skilled construction workforces in the world,” Greg says. “The size of our nation means people must complete a range of tasks. Our tradespeople are well-rounded and never a one-trick pony.”
Extensively qualified himself, Greg says that all of his degrees and certificates are equally valuable. “It’s about where your credentials take you and how you contribute to the part of society that you’re working in.”
Developing tomorrow’s construction workforce has its challenges. Many come back to our increasingly challenging economy.
Housing consent numbers have dropped significantly over the last few years. Around 35,000 consents were issued in April 2024; this is a significant drop compared to the over 50,000 consents issued in some 2022 periods. Greg notes the high points in 1974 and 2002 to 2007; the latter saw over 30,000 consents monthly. Coming off phenomenal highs means the industry can stabilise, and Greg notes these figures still represent a mountain of work, but overall, trade is slowing.
“The record for the number of homes consented was 51,015 in the year ended May 2022. In the two years since, the number of homes consented has fallen 32 percent from that peak,” construction and property statistics manager Michael Heslop said in July.
Greg says that economists who predict consent numbers will blow up soon are playing a short game. “I’m looking ahead. Ensuring that businesses have the right people with the right skills at the right time: that’s the long game.”
Apprenticeships are three- to four-year propositions. One of the many things BCITO does is ensure the workforce thinks long-term while managing its short-term challenges.
“We understand why some businesses are making decisions about downsizing staff, reducing overtime, and so on. Most of the employers we work with know that in times of plenty, they need highly skilled staff, and in times of quiet, they need highly skilled staff for different reasons.”
Greg says that when the number of consents drops, businesses must pivot away from new builds and towards projects that don’t require building consents. Those who can manage themselves during difficult periods prove the formula for success as true. “Firms with well-skilled teams can pivot quickly, and that goes back to the equation. BCITO looks carefully at what’s happening in the industry, and we do everything we can to help.”
Nobody markets construction industry careers in New Zealand anywhere near as much as BCITO. The campaign begins in secondary schools, and Greg says what’s most important is ensuring students are aware of their options. BCITO is the largest provider of secondary school programmes nationwide, present at 340 schools. Their Gateway programme, which is standardised with NCEA, gives students the opportunity to try out trades. Theory is done in the classroom and is reinforced with onsite work experience.
Greg spoke on Gateway and wider industry issues at the Secondary Principals’ Association’s (SPANZ) annual conference in May. Attendees learned how significantly the programme supports people, helping them transition from school to industry and giving both employees and employers a choice. Greg also discussed the growing unemployment rate. For the last five or six years, employers have asked BCITO for people to hire. Now, the tables have turned. This change has refreshed and strengthened the workforce of many firms.
Greg understands that it’s hard for job seekers, too. BCITO works intensely to help learners in many ways, from job hunting to literacy and numeracy support, mental health, and learning English. “As an example, lots of construction workers have dyslexia. BCITO makes sure to support learners in that space. It helps them to complete their apprenticeships at the end of the day.”
Accessibility is a cornerstone to putting learning modules together. Greg says that designing curricula is a big but relatively straightforward process. “When you get a group of industry leaders in the room, where support is needed becomes clear.”
Using carpentry as an example, employers don’t need a manual on how to hold a hammer but look for support regarding plans, specifications, building science, new H1 regulations, and so on. Leaders will have extensive knowledge of these topics but might not know how to teach them; that’s where BCITO comes in.
BCITO offers information that demystifies processes in many different ways because no two learners are the same. Videos, documents, and other resources give people opportunities to learn together. Keeping things fresh and engaging is a key focus.
“Apprentices experience a range of diverse roles. You’ve got to do something multiple times–sometimes hundreds of times–to be really skilled. At the same time, you can’t make the work boring. There’s a balancing act to that.”
BCITO has over 400 employees, 300 of which are on-the-road advisors. They work on-site with apprentices, capturing evidence and ensuring they’re learning, progressing, and being supported. Greg says that the magic happens when BCITO works to connect apprentices and remove the disadvantages that come with being new.
Feeling isolated as an apprentice can make this transition even harder. Over 90 percent of the employers that BCITO work with have ten staff or fewer; apprentices are often the sole newbie for a firm. Greg says that working alone is both powerful and a disadvantage. “When you see a ute going down the road with two people in the front, a dog and a ladder in the back, that might be the firm! There will be a home base somewhere, but that can be the entire business.”
Further challenges beyond the economy, unemployment, accessibility, and isolation include adapting to physical demands, which can be tough for those coming from school or an office job where they’re not as active, and transitioning from school to the workforce. “It’s an adult world,” Greg says. “Our employers expect people to turn up and complete the day of work that they’ve been paid for.”
When I asked Greg about cases of bullying and mistreatment, he said that incidents happen rarely and that employers are equipped to and do step in. Employers alleviate challenges like the new environment and its demands where they can. Ultimately, apprentices are an investment, an effort that employers don’t want to waste. “The vast majority of employers ensure staff and apprentices are looked after. They want someone who, down the track, is good for their business.
“Working in the construction industry is quite a lot of fun. When you’re on-site with other tradies, it’s social, there’s a great sense of achievement, and it’s very enjoyable.”
On news stories detailing negative tradie experiences, Greg says that the bag eggs should be amplified to ensure people behave. “Poor behaviour isn’t to be tolerated. Perhaps the media can tend to amplify myths, but apprentices aren’t there to sweep the floor. For floor layers, there’s importance and skill in sweeping the floor, but myths that apprentices don’t do much are wrong. Everyone has to clean up after themselves.”
BCITO has two audiences: employers and future employees. For those interested in construction, Greg says to head into one of their many regional offices and talk to any trusted friends and whanau in the industry.
Internet resources from NZCB, Master Builders, and other industry associations are good points of call. These organisations celebrate apprentice and firm award winners online, which can help grasp industry culture and potential pathways. BCITO uses hero stories on its site, real-life examples of employers and apprentices.
Greg says employers should know that it’s one thing to employ staff and another to train them. BCITO is always open to talking with firms that are considering taking on apprentices. They should also talk with local secondary schools about the Gateway programme.
“It’s try before you buy,” he says. “A student can come to your workplace once or twice a week and experience trades. They’re working and studying, learning about the industry. It’s a great way for employers to test out people who might fit into their business.”
BCITO was instrumental in the establishment of the Apprenticeship Boost Scheme in 2017. They were pleased that the Government retained the scheme in this year’s Budget. “It was a political football,” Greg says.
When introduced in August 2020, the Apprenticeship Boost had a budget of $380m for 20 months. The scheme paid employers $1000 a month for first-year apprentices and $500 a month for those in their second year, up to a maximum of $16,000 for 20 months of training.
The scheme was extended last year by another $230m, but the first-year rate was reduced to $500 a month from August 2022. In this year’s Budget, it was extended to the end of 2024 at a cost of $77m.
BCITO is offering first-year Fees Support (no fees) for all new apprenticeship or supervisor training agreements that start between 1 March 2024 and 30 August 2024.
