Tasman builder nails third place

Tasman Homes builder, Tom Ashley, took out third place in the 2018 New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB) Apprentice Challenge held in Rotorua, in April.
The NZCB challenge is held in partnership with the Industry Training Association Building (ITAB). The 25-year-old was among 19 regional finalists, from all over the country, to compete.
Tom was also presented the Personality award, the first time it has been given to a place-getter, and came third in the practical stage of the challenge. “Aside from placing in the top three the highlight for me was the practical challenge, it was a lot of fun, and a great way to have a laugh and relax a bit during the competition, especially with all the banter and support from all the guys.”
He completes his apprenticeship at the end of the year and says that Tasman Homes owner, Garry Nott, has been 100% supportive of him, and the rest of the crew, since the beginning. “Garry is one of those guys who will go above and beyond for these guys. You don’t get many bosses like that. He flew everyone up to the event. It really shows in the crew how great Garry really is. It has always been a great environment to work in.”
Garry is proud of his team and says, “they are a good team, great boys. My wife and I wanted to strive for a good team, a crew that work well together.” Having been a part of charity builds, Habitat for Humanity and Helping Hands projects, Garry says they want to get to the point where the crew is able to give back themselves and help others. “It is good to see them pushing themselves in competitions like that. We have the Master Builders competition coming up, so it will be good to see a few of them enter that.”