Entries are open and the search is on for the Registered Master Builders 2007 Apprentice of the Year, in association with Carters.
Supported by the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) and the Department of Building and Housing, the competition is set for further growth in 2007.
A major new development is the introduction of a National Apprentice of the Year title, which will give regional Apprentice of the Year winners the opportunity to go head-to-head with other winners from around the country.
The Auckland and Northern regions will also be divided for this year’s competition, resulting in a total of ten Apprentice of the Year regions.
”The growth of this year’s competition further reflects the increasing popularity of careers in the construction industry, and illustrates the pride that apprentices have in their work,” BCITO chief executive Ruma Karatiana says.
National finalists will be judged by an independent national judging panel in Wellington over a two-day period, with the winner being announced at an awards evening on the final night.
Quality bodes well for future
“Taking the Apprentice of the Year competition to a national level demonstrates the quality of our young apprentices and bodes well for the future of the construction industry,” Registered Master Builders chief executive Pieter Burghout says.
Principal sponsor Carters is supporting the competition again in 2007, and will be contributing a selection of power tools to regional Apprentice of the Year winners and placegetters, on top of the study grant and Outward Bound scholarship all regional AOY winners receive.
“Apprentice of the Year is a great industry initiative, and Carters is proud to support a competition of this nature which celebrates industry and training excellence,” Carters chief executive Stuart Munro says.
Regions for the 2007 competition are: Northern, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, East Coast, Central North Island, Wellington, Upper South Island, Central South Island and Southern.
Entries open on Friday, March 30. Entry forms can be downloaded from www.masterbuilder.org.nz or www.bcito.org.nz.
