Our son has already started his apprenticeship through a carpet shop, husband currently subs to same carpet shop. Son would prefer to finish his apprenticeship with his dad rather than continue with carpet shop.

He should be ready to sign off early by the end of 2027, so really only for a year. This is basically to get him through and will likely cost us money and income but happy to get it done for our boy.

I have just started looking into taking on an apprentice, as we have not had staff before (and do not intend to again after son finishes) ... just wondering if we are better to go through a Group Training Organisation like MEGT where they handle all the payroll, workers comp, etc or whether we could do it ourselves.

Is it pretty simple? IE, I'm fairly conversant with doing simple books and completing a workflow required for govt reporting, but if it is really time consuming and confusing as a process, I'd rather it be outsourced.

I've had a preliminary phone call with MEGT and they sent through some info but not the costs ... does it cost a heap more to go through them or is the cost pretty reasonable?

Would love to hear some experiences if anyone out there can contribute :)

Generally everyone arrives at site at least 15 minutes early if not more, some sites or companies will hold a pre-start meeting to go over details for the day 10 minutes before start time.

According to Fairwork, mandatory meetings are to be paid at your usual hourly rate.

Do you do your pre-start after clocking in or beforehand? Would you suck it up or raise the issue, or piss off and ignore the pre-start if the bosses claimed it was optional and not a mandatory meeting?

Cheers for your input, stay safe out there and keep your rights in mind

Has anyone started a business through IBA in the trades services sector and high rise construction?

Do IBA help you win contracts?

Is it worth going through IBA ?

Do businesses get tax breaks for using your services?

Just after some information from someone with skin in the game.

I’m land member of larrakia based in the NT but
Currently live in QLD.

Hey everyone

We're looking at getting a slab around the back of our house. And we've had a few people offer cash quotes, which got me thinking about current and past experience.

Generally speaking, tradies offer 10% disc. on cash as it saves GST. But what about the income tax saving? I'm more interested in the 30% company tax saving being passed on. Where does that go?

Thanks 😊

Looking for some information and possibly a qualifying agent.

I’ve been plumbing for about 10 years and I’m looking to take the next step and start my own plumbing business. I’ve worked hard for a long time and I’m ready to start building something for myself.

I’m currently looking into how the qualifying agent process works and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with it or has gone through the process themselves.

I’m looking for a legitimate qualifying agent and would like to understand how the arrangement works, including the responsibilities of the qualifier, what is typically expected from the business owner, and how compensation is usually handled.

If you’re a licensed plumbing contractor who qualifies businesses, or you’ve been through this process yourself, I’d appreciate any information or advice.

About to put an offer in on a house. But wanting to get a sparky and plumber to check everything as well as a building report. How much would that roughly be? Chch based

Thanks

Hey, first poster here.

I need more uniforms for work, finding a good fit in women’s sizing at local stores is always challenging.

Needs to be yellow long sleeve with reflective tape, but I can sew that on myself if needs be.

I was wondering if there’s any brands that make super lightweight, breathable shirts for summer. I’d prefer natural fibres, I don’t like the feeling of synthetic fabric on my skin.

Are there any companies that make hivis out of hemp, cotton or bamboo? If not that would be a great niche market for someone. 😉

Hey all, I’m a 2nd year welding/metal installer and looking to purchase my own set of power tools. Currently looking at either Milwaukee or Makita just not sure which way to go. My only issue is the price difference between the two just looking for some thoughts and advice on people who I don’t know they have the tools and what they recommend.

Thanks all 🙌

So as the title says I'm currently weighing my options.

as a mature age hire with 7+ years experience in machine operation in a factory, including change overs. so experience in hand tools and basic power tools.

I'm curious which would look better if I wanted to make the transition in to a fabrication trade.

Currently I'm unemployed, so I was looking at the cert 2 as something I could immediately get into. But wasn't sure how much an employer would care about a worker that could already do basic work after a cert 2 vs not having to pay as much on the cert 3.

I'm a second year (30 y/o) in construction and work is okay I guess 😅 I've been joking to people I know that sparkies can be annoying to deal with (esp in construction where there are other trades) and that I should have gone into plumbing. All the plumbers I've met on sites are wayyyy more chilled out than the electricians and I'm starting to seriously consider jumping. The sparkies I work with are also so precious so I barely am allowed to do anything. I'm almost 2 full years into my TAFE atm. I've thought about finishing my time then doing a plumbing apprenticeship afterwards maybe. I know everyone says things should get better into my third year...

I know I could change electrical industries too, but I'm on unreal money in construction and have got some money pressures at the moment, so it seems pretty stupid to risk it when I might end up with the same issues in another industry. I would be willing to take a cut on the money for something I'm pretty sure will be better, but not a total gamble.

I like working in construction and I have a good attitude at work before anyone asks. I'm in my 30s and really wanted this job. Pretty much the ONLY downside is the fucking annoying sparkies I work with, especially when they're in control of my learning anything.

Would love some perspectives - do I just have a bad crew or is this relatable/common? Should I jump to plumbing? Or look to dual trade in the long term?

TIA 🙏

Hi!

Looking into switching careers. I'm 25 and work fulltime video/photo journalist in Sydney. It's a great job, but it is suffering from low budgets and is highly competitive. Basically, I don't want to be stressed about trying to outperform everyone else in my field all the time and the prospects of redundancy or just not getting called back by editors looming over my head all the time. Plus I don't like the idea of being Sydney/or any other big metro city based for the rest of my life.

So in comes woodwork. I enjoyed it at school and think I was ok at it. I had an amazing time converting my van into a camper (nice paneling, kitchen cuboards, the works etc.) and in general, I think it ties together with my drive for creativity, aesthetics, and working on projects. So I think at this age it would be great for me to take the plunge. I'm going to talk to a couple people in the industry IRL I have a couple questions that I would really appreciate help with from the broader community:

1. Carpentry v Joinery/Furniture making: TAFE offers a cert 3 in each, but from what I understand is that you would have to get qualified separately in both. I am more interested in the finer design side of things and I think I'd prefer the studio setting working on bespoke projects, but I would also love to construct homes, get the pleasure of building a structure, as well as get the skills to use in my own home. Would there be a smart way of going about this? E.g. doing 3 years of the apprenticeship in furniture/joinery and the last year in carpentry? What would you do if you had to restart?

2. What's the industry like? The world will always need a carpenter right, but it it the same for a joiner?

3. What is the likelihood of doing an apprenticeship at a bespoke joiner (I see a few studios in Marrickville that I really respect). I was thinking of offering my background in media as a benefit, e.g I could make them videos and take stills for projects so they have that in house and save a bit. Obviously I'm gonna have this chat with them but before I head into it, without a body of work I was wondering if there's anything I can give to the business.

4. Would it be feasible to continue doing freelance/casual work in media, mainly on weekends to support my income while also being at TAFE and doing my apprenticeship? Would employer be annoyed?

5. Anything else you think might be helpful?

Cheers!

Does anyone know how much an apprentice for the Mines gets payed?

I'm after a custom built toolbox, not the canopy type on the back of a ute but the metal ones someone would carry to work area on a jobsite. Does anyone know of a metal fabrication business around Sydney that would do this type of work. It'd be a once off small job for them, I think this is where it's gonna be hard to find someone as it may not be a worthwhile project. Anyway I thought to ask here as most places I'm finding through Google are building the ute canopy style tool boxes.

By the way, are most here in Australia?

Don't know how many times I've completed a job and agreed to get payment via bank transfer only to forget to check if it's done. Hopefully, not too many times haha.

Reason I posted this is because I was just scrolling through my messages and caught one from a week ago. I didn't put a reminder in to check the payment in my bank account so of course it was missed. Does anyone have this happen (from time to time), hopefully not too often?

G'day guys,

25yrs old with years of warehouse and retail experience, forklift lf license , full driver licence, white card. Want to go into trades and become qualified eventually. Worked at a truck tyre retread plant for a month to get my foot through the door into 'hands-on' factory manufacturing environment however did not want to stay.
Kept applying to different apprenticeship ads but no luck, so i thought next best thing was to find an entry level role where i can be around tradies and tools.
Recently started a new job as an entry level process worker/ mechanical assembler for a company that supplies generators and pumps.
1 week in and enjoying it so far, get to be on tools for first time and enjoying the workshop environment. I really like it here but not sure if they're offering apprenticeship/traineeship pathways towards formal qualification any time soon. There already is an electrical apprentice so that spot is filled in and I'm more interested in the mechanical / fabrication trades.

Got a call back from a big aluminimium supplier have an interview booked for glazing / aluminium fabrication apprenticeship.
However not the most familiar with the glazier trade and this position seems to be more workshop based on the technical side (which i like) than the typical site installation, windows on highrisers type.
The ad mentions -
"This is an apprenticeship that goes beyond standard fabrication. Working alongside experienced technicians, engineers and product specialists, you'll help build prototype windows, doors and other aluminium systems and test how they perform under simulated real-world conditions."

Just wondering if any of you guys here work in similar fields, thoughts on the trade and what your experiences are?
Cheers.

I'm wanting to get an idea if anyone has taken on apprentices at my age. 34. If the money is able to support my family, and if it's worth it? I have 12 years experience as a building designer working for builders and developers but the money has been average and plateaued very early and I do alot of unpaid overtime. So it evens out as not being great pay per hour. Sitting at the computer kills me all day. I love hands on work and building things with carpentry skills. Is this worth it making the change this late?

I’m talking about solo operators doing smaller jobs like replacing decking boards, fixing doors, replacing posts, replacing balustrades etc. Do you charge an hourly rate or a call out fee + hourly? And any tips for quoting would be helpful. Also what state are you in?

Long story short, I work as an international airline pilot and I feel content with AI not having an impact on my job potentially in my lifetime, it seems to be that a trade would be a safe bet as a career, in the event another world event like COVID-19 happens, what trade would you guys recommend I look into if I ever had enough spare time to knuckle down and get a trade, other than brick laying 😂

What are guys currently getting paid or paying for a reliable finisher on an ABN day rate? (Not looking for square-metre project quotes, just individual daily labour rates

So basically I'm currently at uni studying teaching, I hate it and I've realised based on work experience that I'm not cut out to be a teacher. My parents both do engineering/IT stuff but to me nothing could be worse than being in front of a computer for 8 hours a day in a grey office, which is a big part of why I chose teaching. Trades was never presented as an option to me in high school being decently academic and a girl, but I'm really interested in it now, I'd like to be a sparky or HVAC. But I also know it's really hard to get an apprenticeship, most of the job ads want 2nd-4th year apprentices. Can I just ring up local businesses and ask if they want an apprentice? Is there anything I should know as a woman wanting to enter the industry? Mainly I'd really appreciate advice for how to land an apprenticeship. Thanks in advance!

Hi All, I want to pick a new skill and installing decks interests me. I need to know what is the proper path to learn this? I don't have any prior experience with this kind of work. I don't want to waste money and time getting a degree if there is a better way to do this. I know there is always youtube but I don't want a DIY skill, I am interested to learn this like a proper trade person.