The hard yards It hasn’t been all plain sailing for James Douglas Medallion recipient Ryan Wilson

APPRENTICE PROFILE

Ryan Wilson went from leaving school at 16 after missing a year through sickness to achieving the highest mark nationwide for both his Certifying Plumber and Certifying Gasfitter exams—and now he’s capped that by winning the James Douglas Medallion. NZ Plumber talks to Ryan about his journey to date.

AUTHOR: LOIS OLDEHAVER

Ryan Wilson’s advice to other apprentices is to ask a lot of questions and try to be a sponge. That’s how he’s been able to soak up so much information on the go, he says.

Twenty-one-year-old Ryan has already carved out a name for himself as a hardworking and dedicated apprentice, winning the 2022 James Douglas Medallion at the New Zealand Plumbing Awards—the top national accolade for apprentices reaching the end of their training.

Although completing his plumbing and gasfitting apprenticeship at Master Plumbers’ member business Hutt Gas & Plumbing has been delayed due to the pandemic, Ryan has the bulk of his studies behind him—with top marks to boot. In 2020 he achieved the highest exam mark in the country for the Certifying Plumber exam, which was recognised with a merit of excellence award from the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board. This September, he received the same award for top marks in the 2021 Certifying Gasfitter exams.

It hasn’t been a walk in the park. In preparation for sitting both Certifying exams, Ryan committed to a strict study schedule, clocking up 1,800 hours in just over 18 months—all while working 42-hour weeks, with the occasional night and weekend on-call work thrown in.

Not bad for someone who confesses to having never enjoyed studying before.

Asked how he was able to stay focused, Ryan admits a certain amount of drive to prove others wrong. “It also helps that once you find something you’re interested in, studying suddenly isn’t so bad.”

Career starters

Winning the 2022 James Douglas Medallion has given Ryan Wilson extra motivation to work hard and be an example for other apprentices coming through.

Pathway to plumbing

A career in plumbing was not something he’d considered growing up. After taking some time after school to work out what he wanted to do, he’s glad he’s now found something he both enjoys and is good at.

“To be fair I actually got a bit sick during school with mechanical enthesitis and chronic fatigue and basically missed Year 10 at school,” he says. “After I came back, I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing and decided just to finish early.

“My sister was a site manager for a construction company, so I did some work with her, decided it wasn’t my thing, but James Douglas Medallion, saying that after training apprentices for 30-plus years, he is one of the most outstanding workers they have come across and deserved the award for his work ethic, diligence, and character.

As part of the prize, Ryan receives a career development scholarship to the value of $2,500 from Skills to help him plan what his career pathway could look like in plumbing.

This far into his apprenticeship, he is enjoying the larger projects the most, having worked on large school sites as well as commercial buildings.

“It’s been great to sink my teeth into some bigger projects,” says Ryan, adding that he enjoys the problem solving and camaraderie that comes with a big site and working with different trades.

Ryan committed to a strict study schedule, clocking up 1,800 hours in just over 18 months—all while working 42-hour weeks, with the occasional night and weekend on-call work thrown in.

then seeing my brother work as a sparky made me want to enrol in a plumbing pretrade course.

“I was then able to get some good references from work experience which helped me get my spot at Hutt Gas & Plumbing.”

It was the company’s General Manager Colleen Upton who nominated Ryan for the

Ryan and members of the Hutt Gas & Plumbing team and their partners at the 2022 New Zealand Plumbing Awards in June. From left: Helen and Scott Adin, Colleen Upton, Grant Jefferson, Ryan Wilson, Rachel Jefferson, Michel Webb and Darren Smith.

Leadership potential

When he’s not working, Ryan is likely to be hanging out with his mates or indulging in his new interest—business and leadership books. He loves the classic How to Win Friends and Influence People and is currently enjoying James Kerr’s Legacy, with its lessons in leadership from All Blacks’ greats.

The James Douglas Medallion recognises Ryan’s own potential as a future leader in the industry, and he says it’s given him the motivation to keep working hard to be an example to those coming through.

He enjoys working alongside the new apprentices at Hutt Gas & Plumbing and finds it rewarding helping them and seeing their progress.

His response to anyone thinking of getting into plumbing: “Do it—you won’t regret it”.

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