Trowel Trades Awards 2023

High quality work, attention to detail and speed. These are just some of the winner’s traits of this year’s Best Overall Tiler award.

The main winner of Holmesglen TAFE’s 2023 Trowel Trade Awards, Duncan McLeod, exemplifies the ideal tile installer on a jobsite. His tiling teacher, Frank Vanzella, describes him in the following way: “He's a very quiet guy, and he just gets on with the job. He is also very modest. When you give him accolades, he just takes them on board. They are just some of his best qualities.”

Duncan is currently employed by Michael Dyson, director of ProTile Wall and Floor Tiling in Melbourne. The business has grown from doing basic domestic tiling to being involved in larger commercial projects and shopfitting. (Check out ProTile Wall and Floor Tiling’s Facebook page to see its latest work at Chadstone Shopping Centre and Victoria Gardens in Richmond.)

Michael offers praise about Duncan’s skills. He told Tile Today: “Duncan’s best attributes as an apprentice tiler would be his willingness to learn new skills and better himself as a tiler, his attention to detail, and he is keen and bright.

“What sets Duncan apart from other apprentices is he that he is trustworthy and hard working. I can trust him to complete a job to our expected level of finish without my constant involvement which has been the case whatever task he’s assigned from the beginning of his apprenticeship.”

Duncan is equally effusive about his employer. “I’ve been working with ‘Dys’ since I started so we’ve developed a great friendship as well as him being my boss. He looks after me and always challenges me to be better,” he said.

His attributes as an apprentice will probably lead to a satisfying career in the tile industry. “Duncan is a pleasant young man and when he gets older, he'll probably do well as a manager,” said Frank.

And he agrees that Duncan has a strong work ehtic. “He's someone who doesn't just want to go home early. Sometimes I get apprentices who always ask if they can go home before it’s time to leave. Duncan was always there to get the work done properly. He just ticks all the boxes,” adds Frank.

It was Duncan’s mother who suggested he try out tiling. As he explains: “One of mum’s friends from work heard of a tiling company that was looking for an apprentice and thought that I would be suited to it, since I’m a perfectionist. I didn’t really know what tiling entailed before I started my trial week but that was three years ago now and I’m still here doing it.”

Not surprisingly, the variety of detail-oriented tasks is something that Duncan finds appealing about being a tiler. “Some of the best things about tiling is probably the fact that there is so much involved in the process such as screeding, waterproofing, grouting, etc. You’re always doing something different every day and being able to look at your work once it’s completed and appreciate how rewarding it is,” he explains.

In addition to winning Holmesglen TAFE’s top tiling apprentice award, Duncan was nominated at the Master Builders Association State Apprentice awards earlier this year. Both Michael and Duncan attended the ceremony at Marvel Stadium where a select number of Victorian apprentices were recognised for their exceptional skills and commitment to the building industry.

Apprentice numbers

In 2023, there were about 35 students in Frank’s classes, down from 45 in 2022. The decline is in stark contrast to the amount of work opportunities available in the industry. Frank has similar observations and said: “There are jobs out there. They can pick and choose what they want to do.”

TAFEs are the ideal place for tilers to be properly qualified to suit a market that is more demanding and informed about what they want in their housing, buildings and renovations. To cater for the need of skilled tradespeople, Holmesglen TAFE is holding Open Days on “Construction Waterproofing” and “Flooring, Plastering, Roof Tiling, and Wall and Floor Tiling” in late August at its Chadstone campus in Melbourne. They are ideal for training and people who want to start their own businesses.

For more information, go to the link: https://holmesglen.edu. au/Courses/Building-andConstruction/Flooring-Plasteringand-Tiling/Certificate-III-in-Walland-Floor-Tiling-Apprenticeship/

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