APPRENTICE:

CustomerID: 4772

First Name: Andrew

Surname: Higgins

Email Address:

Phone:

Address:

Region: Upper South

Date Registered: 7/05/2013 10:02:00 p.m.

EMPLOYER:

Company Name: Dusty Builders Ltd

Contact Person:

Postal Address:

Phone Number:

Mobile Number:

Email Address:

TRAINING ADVISOR:

Training Coordinator: Other;ITAB

Start date of on-site apprenticeship: 1/09/2011

Training coordinator/contact person:

Phone:

Mobile:

Email:

OTHER:

Other building qualifications - you can include information about other Unit Standards you have

achieved here:

Why do you think you’ve got what it takes to be the Registered Master Builders Carters 2013

Apprentice of the Year?

I Strongly believe I have what it takes to be the Registered Master Builders Carters 2013 Apprentice

of the Year because of the Skills; natural leadership talent and hard work ethic that I bring to each

and every aspect of not only my building career but my entire life. An example of my leadership skills

and talent as a builder is the role I have become to fill in my bosses company; Dusty Builders Ltd. I

am a foreman in charge of running jobs from start to completion and day to day organising of other

staff and apprentices. This not only requires forward thinking and planning but also excellent

communication skills that are essential when liaising with clients and staff. In the future; (5years

approx) I will hopefully be running my own company; with a small professional team providing not

only a high standard of work; but high safety standards to match. Many of the interests I pursue

outside of work are character building and also keep me fit and healthy; these activity's include

mountain biking; hunting; tramping and diving (both scuba and free). In 2012 I entered into the ITAB

run apprentice of the year competition and won the regional practical component. I went on to

place second in the national competition and I am very proud of this yet it still leaves me hungry to

prove that I have what it takes to be a national champion.

Your Project:

The project that I will be showing the regional judges is the Clarke residence situated on Bronte

Road; Tasman.

This bespoke project contained many challenging elements that required advanced skills and work

with new products and exotic timbers. Some of the many elements involved polished concrete

floors; vertical shiplap cedar cladding; kwila decking and flush door inserts; high walls and butynol

internal gutters.

Some of the finishing work required took a great amount of care and patience and the result is

magnificent and clearly shows this.

A project of this calibre has a plan like any building project however many many more details and

much more forward thinking is required and is a skill I utilise on every job I now do.

In more detail; the house is comprised of three wings; each different pitches of five; ten; and fifteen

degrees all meeting each other on a central line. Wing one is made up by 200x45 h1.2 pine and

200x45 laminated veneer lumber framing (LVL)and 340x45 hy-span LVL beams to form the roof. This

wing houses the workshop; car garage; motorhome garage; main entrance tunnel; toilet; laundry

mezzanine floor lounge; gallery and rumpus room and is clad in single length vertical shiplap cedar.

Two upward opening sectional garage doors and a set of barn doors provide access to garages; all

with matching lengths of cedar.

Wing two has similar make up of frames and roof as wing one and houses two bedrooms;

bathroom; master bedroom (plus ensuite and walk in wardrobe) and the main tv lounge. Wing two is

clad in reverse run LT5 long run iron in thunder-grey and has cedar insteps around the master

bedroom sliding door and the entire opening front of the bedrooms and bathroom. One of my

favourite features is the sliding doors on the west facing side of this wing.

Wing three houses the kitchen; scullery; dining area; decks and swimming pool; even featuring a

hanging fireplace that rotates three hundred and sixty degrees. Framed with 200x45 once again; this

time west and south facing walls are fixed atop of 90x90 RHS steel beam frames that provide

openings to extensive qwilla decking around the south; west and north sides. This entire area has

polished concrete floors and a marante ply negative-detail ceiling. Cedar cladding adores walls and

soffits.

Each of the three wings have thunder-grey LT5 long run iron; amazingly all in single lengths therefore

achieving zero end to end joins; even over wing two with a 28-metre span.

I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project and believe that is has given me invaluable experience

in high end building projects that I will carry with me into similar scale projects in the near future.

Your Declaration: I agree to the above

22 May 2013

To whom it may concern.

Andrew Higgins completed NMIT’s Certificate in Carpentry in 2009 before going onto employment with Dusty Builders, owned by Brent Dixon.

Andrew has progressed a considerable amount since leaving NMIT and is now trusted with large amounts of responsibility on site.

Recently with the departure of one of Brent’s qualified tradesman, Andrew was asked to step up to continue on with the “foreman’s” role managing both staff and the project. At the last visit Andrew was in sole charge of the on-site construction aspect and overseeing two other apprentices. Site visiting Andrew is more like discussing the job with a tradesman than an apprentice and he regularly informs me of new changing methods.

I spoke to Andrew about this role change and he indicated that he was very keen to take this on and broaden his skill base.

Andrew in 2012 competed in the ITaB Apprentice Challenge, taking out first place in the Nelson region. He went on to represent the Top of the South region in the national completion and took out 2nd place overall which was a massive achievement.

Speaking to him soon after the result, he was “buzzing” and I believe this has set him up for a big future in the industry.

Andrew is a vital part of Dusty Builders and along with two other apprentices and Brent, the employer, they produce a large number of quality houses per year.

Outside of work Andrew has a number of interests and has formed some very solid friendships with other apprentices.

I fully support Andrews entry into this completion and believe he has what it takes to win the regional component and go onto win at national level also.

Steve McIntyre

NMIT/ITaB carpentry tutor

0272776938

22/05/2013 To whom it may concern, Andrew Higgins has been working for me at Dusty Builders for the past 3 years. During this time he has shown a great ability to learn and absorb what he has been taught. He has an eagerness to learn and to be shown as much as possible. I admire Andrews loyalty to Dusty builders, his passion to succeed, but most of all I admire Andrews passion for building. I have no hesitation in knowing that Andrew will be a very successful builder. He has a good attitude, excellent people skills and interacts well with clients, tradesman, and other employees. Andrew shows a lot of patience in teaching other apprentices what to do. His attention to detail and finishing work is of a very high standard as well. Regards Brent Dixon www.dustybuilders.co.nz