A young construction company boss says today’s apprentices feel they deserve to be rich and struggle with the fact they will only be rewarded after years of working five or six days a week.
Corey Tomkins, 29, began his career as a construction apprentice in his father’s business at the age of 16 before launching his own construction company, Brisbane-based Ideal Group, in 2018.
Mr Tomkins told the Daily Mail Australia he is concerned about the current generation of apprentices moving up the ranks and blamed social media for presenting a false view of how easy it is to succeed.
Influencers promote get-rich-quick schemes that get into the heads of “these learners and almost create a point of entitlement,” he said.
“It’s not even one percent of people who have those Lambos, have those mansions, have all those nice things that are promoted on social media.”
Mr Tomkins said many apprentices are not prepared for long, gruelling days behind the tools after leaving high school.
‘Some people struggle with having to do that constantly, five or six days a week, and usually only having one break a day.’
When a promising apprentice joins his business, Mr Tomkins said it was sometimes a challenge to keep them focused and many left early.
Corey Tomkins (pictured with his wife) has started hiring apprentices based solely on their attitude and personality rather than their skills.
Mr Tomkins said young workers would see rewards if they persevered through their apprenticeship.
“Construction is a career that you typically stay in, and if you stay in it long enough, you can see the economic benefits,” he said.
Mr Tomkins has begun hiring apprentices based solely on their attitude and personality rather than their skills.
He added that his first apprentice, Jake, worked at a bar at night and was still there every day, working hard no matter how mundane the job was.
‘So for the first two months, I didn’t care what he did outside of work, but he had to make sure he showed up. And, in his defense, he showed up every day.
‘We have a guy who has been an apprentice for a while. He’s an older apprentice, he has a child and he shares a car with his partner.
‘But he still comes every day on time, works hard, works on Saturdays, and I don’t know how he does it, but he does it.
‘But on the other hand, I have children who live at home, their parents buy them a car and all they have to worry about is going to work and doing their job.
‘I can teach them everything under the sun about how to do the job, everything there is to teach.
“What you can’t teach is your attitude,” he said.
He said many apprentices are not prepared for long, grueling days with the tools after finishing high school.
While he has a problem with young apprentices, the young business owner can still relate to their social media struggles and is looking to make a change to help them work better.
Mr Tomkins said the younger generation may have the same level of determination as his first group of apprentices, but are misguided by influencers to make quick gains.
‘I’ve hired guys who are really skilled, they have all the equipment, but they have a really bad attitude and I said to myself, “maybe I can change that.”
“Maybe you can change it for a month or two, but that ends up making it completely worse.”
His comments come as Australia faces a shortage of skilled workers needed to build the 1.2 million homes promised by the Albanian government over the next five years.
The Housing Industry Association has warned the government that 185,000 homes will be built a year in 2024 and 2025, well below the target of 200,000 a year, due to rising construction costs and high interest rates.
Billionaire businessman Dick Smith said Australia needs to get young people out of lecture theatres and into practical work in an effort to boost the supply of skilled workers.
Mr Tomkins is pictured with the tools.
His comments come as Australia faces a shortage of skilled workers needed to build the one million homes promised by the Albanian government over the next five years.
“If you want to be a doctor or an engineer, well, that (university education) is a necessity, but it’s often wasted, especially with people getting arts degrees and never using them,” Smith told Daily Mail Australia.
‘A trader can make very good money, especially if he opens his own business.
‘My local electrician is a millionaire and has done very well for himself. So, for me, a tradesman who starts his own business can be very successful in Australia.
‘There is a greater chance for a person with a vocational education to open his own business and employ his own people than for someone with an arts degree.’