BUILDING A BETTER FUTURE

Building apprentice GEORGIA STEVENSON loves being part of a special development in Wellington.

She is working on the Living Pā project, which is part of the redevelopment of the marae precinct at Victoria University of Wellington.

The Living Pā has been designed to be a purpose-built living lab and a place for multiple communities and disciplines to come together to discuss building a more equitable, fair and sustainable society. The project is regenerating five villas in front of Te Tumu Herenga Waka, the wharenui built more than 33 years ago. The construction uses timber alone and recycling is a high priority on site.

Georgia (20) says it is a cool development to be involved with.

“It is part of the Living Building Challenge, and it is like Green Star but way more involved. Everything has to be recycled properly. Most jobs we do, the construction is made of concrete and steel, but this is all timber. The columns, the beams, flooring – everything. “It is good to work with, but it can present issues. You don’t want to get the timber wet because that can cause swelling and expansion and things like that.”

Georgia began her apprenticeship with Wellington company L.T. McGuinness back in October 2021. She is about halfway through her apprenticeship, which was organised through BCITO |Te Pūkenga, the learning division for construction work at Te Pūkenga – New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology.

“It works well. The theory work is done online and there are a bunch of different unit standards that you slowly tick away at,” says Georgia. “Every four months, a training advisor visits you on-site and look over the work you have been doing. You explain the things you have worked on to them and they will sign you off when they believe you have a good understanding of it all.

“We also have an apprentice training school at L.T. McGuinness that apprentices attend twice a month for a full day to ensure we are keeping up with the BCITO programme. As well, we have mentors on our site who are really helpful. Everyone in the company has been great and there is always someone willing to help out if you don’t know something.”

Georgia says to succeed in an apprenticeship, it comes down to hard work and having a good attitude.

“It can be quite challenging, which is always good, and there are always heaps of opportunities to learn. You need to actually be willing to try new things and work hard at it and keep going.”

Georgia went to Wellington Girls’ College and took PE, Maths and Statistics, English, plus Faith, Evidence and Reasoning in Year 13. She wanted to join the New Zealand Army, but her asthma stopped that plan. She started labouring and found she loved the building trade.

Georgia enjoys being one of the female apprentices working at L.T. McGuinness and she would like to see more females join her in the ranks but does not want any special treatment.

“I don’t try to be the female apprentice who wants to make a point of being a female. I just want to do exactly the same things the guys do.

“All the guys I work with treat me that way. I enjoy it and encourage more females [to begin].”

For more information on career opportunities with L.T. McGuinness, visit www.ltmcguinness.co.nz/careers/work-with-us