Youth Supporter
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday June 15, 2004
David Funnell doesn't complain about the lack of good tradesman - he does something about it.
The proprietor of Funnell's Electrical Contracting in Camden has taken part in the group-training initiative for 20 years.
Next week, his 47th apprentice will graduate as a fully qualified tradesman.
``Everyone goes on about how hard it is to find good labour, how there are no good tradesmen," he said.
``I always say, `Well, what are you doing about training your own? You've got to train up your own staff these days. My entire staff is made up of tradesman who have been trained from scratch.
``That way they learn everything, they know the company policy, they've got good attitudes and they know that the customer always comes first."
Mr Funnell's passion for giving young people a go has seen him win the NSW Group Training Awards host employer of the year (with less than 20 employees) category.
He works in partnership with Macarthur Group Training.
``We give them our criteria and they send us the best people for the jobs," Mr Funnell said.
``The electrical trade is not easy and we need people who are going to stick it out and get their TAFE qualifications.
``In my opinion, going through group-training companies is the only way to get apprentices these days. In the unlikely event any don't work out, then you're not committed."
Mr Funnell is committed to his staff, not only encouraging them to do further courses, but subsidising the cost.
© 2004 Illawarra Mercury