Palmerston North builder nailing it with apprentice of the year award

Monday, 8 November 2021

Palmerston North builder Jarred Badham has been named the national Registered Master Builders apprentice of the year.

A mid-career change to the building trade has worked wonders for Palmerston North man Jarred Badham.

Badham, 29, is the national Registered Master Builders apprentice of the year.

Before joining the building trade, he had been an aircraft mechanic for more than five years.

Originally from Ashburton, he had moved north to Ōhakea when he joined the air force, and later became a builder.

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Jarred Badham has been a builder for two and a half years, having previously been an aircraft mechanic.

“It was a good change,” Badham said. “I found it a really satisfying job doing something real, building homes for people.

“You stand back at the end of the project and [there’s something] that started out as a bare bit of land, and now you’ve got a turn-key house.”

He works for Palmerston North company Nailing It, which is run by director Stewart Buchanan, and finished his apprenticeship in May. He now has a level 4 BCITO qualification.

“I actually smashed it out in just over two years. Stew and I were saying set the goal for that two-year mark.”

The apprenticeship was competency based and Badham did well. He learnt a lot and enjoyed learning how to build new houses.

Badham, who hoped to get his supervisor qualification, said he was stoked about the national award win after a big buildup.

He won $5000 Carters credit to spend on his trade and use of a ute for a year.

He had previously won the regional competition which involved a two-hour practical build, a site visit and a one-hour interview. His practical component was based on a new house build.

For the national final he had to submit a written project then have a 45-minute interview with the judges. Normally the final is a six-hour build in Auckland, but Covid-19 scuppered those plans.

Badham’s project focused on the build of two transportable houses, which he said were a good challenge and a different type of building.

The transportable houses were done by a company he owns with Buchanan called Heartwood Homes.

Buchanan was pleased with Badham’s win.

“Obviously it’s a real asset to the team that’s for sure. It’s good to have someone a bit more mature for a change with a bit of life experience.

“He can apply those prior learnings from other work, that's a big bonus.”

Nailing It had another apprentice do well in the national competition in 2014 when Ryan Smith-Piling finished third, and Buchanan said it was good to have quality builders working for the company.