Investing in the future of the building industry

Lyons Construction welcomes the Government’s $49.8 million investment in the Head Start Apprenticeships and Traineeships program announced by Treasurer Tim Pallas in his third State Budget on Tuesday 1 May 2018. As a long term employer of trades people we share the concerns expressed by others in the sector regarding the skills shortage and the complexities in training individuals to be “job ready” for an industry that has, and is, rapidly changing.

Our current carpentry apprentice, Declan Robertson, joined Lyons Construction last year as a school based apprentice and in 2018 transitioned to a full time staff member. He has been a great addition to the team. His keenness to learn and his positive attitude is often remarked upon. 

One of his mentors at Lyons Construction is Bernie Henry. It is fitting that Bernie should mentor Declan just as he was mentored by more experienced staff members when he joined Lyons Construction as an apprentice in 1980. Bernie’s first job with Lyons was a house for the Griffith’s family in Remony Avenue, Highton. It was a modern house, split level with many architectural details, a great learning opportunity for Bernie.

Bernie has been a great asset to Lyons working on many buildings in and around Geelong including Smorgy’s, GTECH and a number of police stations and schools. 

We do hope that Declan is still working in the industry in 2056; that will equate to the number of years Bernie has worked as part of the Lyons team so far. It’s hard to imagine what the building industry will be like then but I do hope that what remains is the camaraderie and willingness to share knowledge and skills across all experience levels in our business.