When you meet someone inspirational you want to share them with others and we’d like to share Dave Whiunui and his story with you. Dave has just completed his plumbing, and nearly completed his drainlaying apprenticeship working with Laser Plumbing East Tamaki, through the Apprenticeship Training Trust (ATT).
Talking with him is like standing in a ray of sunshine as he explains in his calm, warm way how he wants to help others.
Dave said “Back in 2008 I was a high school dropout. I didn't know where I wanted to go with my career. I didn’t like studying. I chose an apprenticeship because it's important to me that I can earn while I learn, I'm a lot more motivated to earn while I’m learning than to be studying.
“I was brought up in a big family and my brother asked me if I wanted to do a plumbing and drainlaying pre-trade course with him at MIT. He inspired me to do that and that's how I got started, I grew a passion for it.
“ATT is a not-for-profit charitable trust that helps you into a trade. My area manager, Steve, is always a phone call away and he helps me out with onsite stuff and makes sure I have proper PPE gear. Our area managers are always there to help us, I don't feel alone when I’m out there in the field as I’ve always got support when I need it. ATT has helped me with organising block courses and they're always making sure that I’m up to date with my studies and my theory work.
“My host company is Laser Plumbing and they've helped me a lot, I’m grateful for all their help. The culture that Laser instils is professional; the tradesmen lead by example and everyone's willing to give a hand. Our senior management are always there and I’m never chucked in the deep end. The culture is awesome. I’m hanging out with a bunch of mates, getting the job done. ATT and Laser have definitely helped me open new doors.
“When I started out fresh as an apprentice I learned new skills such as how to use tools, how to maintain them, that was a skill in itself, because the tools are your bread and butter.
“A plumbing apprenticeship was a great choice for me, I’ve developed a lot of skills I can use in my everyday life. I've learned to take on more leadership roles and to help and teach others about plumbing and the trade. Plumbing is a real skilled trade. I've learned many technical skills throughout my apprenticeship.
“Not only have I learnt practical skills, I’ve learned to become more confident and outspoken. When I started I didn't think I would be leading a team of tradesmen and I’m proud of that achievement. I love to teach others and watch them grow. It develops them and it develops me, learning leadership skills through plumbing has helped me a lot.
“I specialise in residential builds, new builds, plumbing slabs, pipe-outs, pre-slabs and second fix. I enjoy the variety of work and learning new things on the job every day. Recently I’ve been working on kiwi-build projects for Fletchers. I also enjoy maintenance, I find that's where I get to think a lot and use the technical side of my brain. My favourite part of my job is seeing the end result and knowing I had a hand in it and taking pride in my work. I find a lot of satisfaction when I see the customer happy knowing that I’ve done a good job.
“My least favourite part is when mother nature plays up and starts to bucket down and that makes my job ten times harder in the mud but it's all it's all fun out there and it's good to get dirty sometimes. I love the fact that the job keeps me fit and I’m always actively moving.
“The skills I’ve learnt have helped me in my personal life too. One of the things I really like about plumbing is how it has helped me develop skills that I can take back to my family to help my people. I’ve taken them back to my whanau and friends to help others with things that they wouldn't normally be able to do, I’m big on helping others. I can tackle problems and find solutions to technical problems and I feel great about knowing that I’ve achieved something that any average joe wouldn't be able to do, so I’m very proud of that.
“Outside of plumbing I’m a family man, I have a huge family so I’m family-orientated a lot of the time. Last year I bought a boat, so I can do fishing and providing.
“I’ve been through a lot of training with ATT, they've helped me get licenses that I need in the trade for operating diggers, heavy machinery, wheels tracks and rollers and soon I will be getting my elevator work platform certification. Through reviews with our area managers they help identify where we need more training and they organise that training. It’s always good to know that they're there and they're willing to give a hand whenever they can. ATT has helped me out a lot.
“Laser Plumbing, my host company, has a lot of in-house training such as communication skills and developing yourself as a person. I’m grateful for all of these things. It's helped me with confidence and chasing what I want in life.
“At the moment I’m off work on ACC with a sports injury. I had a herniated disc and after surgery it was instant relief from sciatica. I’ve been off work for six weeks and recovery is going well. ATT supports me, they understand the procedure with ACC, they understand the decisions I’ve made and they help me along the way – they made everything easy.
“I'm on a journey where I am learning my heritage, learning my culture, learning who I am and where I’m from. I feel grounded by it. I’ve learned that my culture is beautiful – we are a beautiful people. I'm gonna take that and run with it and hopefully inspire others to chase their dreams, to make something of yourself for yourself for your family for your tamariki, for your kids. Because at the end of the day that's what we're all here for is the rangatahi – the next generation so we can provide and build a platform for them, then they can grow and I wouldn't have to be explaining or putting myself on the line because I’ve set the platform for them and they can rise, as a people, as a whole and not only Maori, but as a nation, we can all rise, and we can all be on the same page and lift each other. I’m all about lifting people. I know who I am, I know where I’m from, I’m proud of it and I carry that with me.
“We need to reach out to people because some people need a bit of inspiration, a little lift, then a foot in the door. I know my people and I know we're a culture of hard mahi, we work hard and history shows that if we’re given an opportunity we can shine.
“My family is proud. I’m always at home fixing things around the house, not just plumbing, I’ve developed skills that I can use in other ways. We all help each other. We're big on feelings and I know they're with me and they're proud of what I do and what I’m doing. The caring, the sharing, the helping, all of that's instilled in our culture. We've always been that way and it's helped me share knowledge.
“My advice if you decide to become a plumber, is to give it your all. You can achieve anything that you put your mind to. Plumbing is a great trade as you're exposed to many other trades. You're not only learning plumbing and drainlaying, you're learning about building, you're working alongside electricians, foundation people, roofers – so there's a bunch of other trades that you can learn from. It's helped me with project managing a building project for my family.
“The right person for the job will be someone who's willing to learn, take on new experiences, challenge themselves, willing to work with a team, somebody who's keen to get stuck in and get dirty. You're gonna get cuts and bruises. You’re also gonna get the banter, the laughs, it's all a part of the trade. You grow from it and you bring your strengths in and use them to channel them into something useful. It is hard at the start, I put blood sweat and tears into it and I grew a strong work ethic from it.
“What is the most treasured thing in the world? It’s He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. The people the people the people. We live by that.”
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Gillian Westbrooke, Human Resources Manager and co-owner at Laser Plumbing East Tamaki, oversees a team of over 30 employees, including eight apprentices through ATT – story and video
At ATT we love working with apprentices like Dave and hosts like Gillian, see more of our apprentices’ and hosts’ stories on YouTube – click here or on www.att.org.nz/news. If you would like to find out more about becoming an apprentice, or hosting a fantastic apprentice like Dave, we have candidates looking for apprenticeships – see: www.att.org.nz