News and Blogs
National Tiles 2020 Tiler of the Year Awards
In an industry first, National Tiles and Grand Designs Australia, in partnership with our sponsors, are excited to announce the inaugural Tiler of the Year Awards 2020. And the grand prize is a force of nature! The commanding Mazda BT-50 Boss. We are passionate about...
Forty years of the Burra Charter and Australia’s Heritage Vision – history.city by james lesh
As the Burra Charter turns 40, James Lesh looks back at the global influence of its innovative approach to heritage value and asks how it may need to evolve to meet the challenges of future conservation and changing sensibilities. The Burra Charter guides how...
Changes to CITB Funding of Short Courses
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) have been providing subsidies for further training in the Construction Industry for over 25 years. Unfortunately, this financial years budget has been reduced. As a result, some of the costs for our short courses have...
Apprenticeship transfers – proceed with caution
Over the years FCTA has helped hundreds of employers sign up new apprentices. One of the ways we have recommended signing up an apprentice has been via an apprenticeship transfer. The idea behind this seems like a low-risk recommendation, but this year we have seen an...
Pre-Apprenticeship Course Starting 10th September 2019
FCTA - Building Careers is running a Certificate II in Construction (CPC20112) Pre-Apprenticeship Course starting 10th September. The course runs for 10 weeks, Tuesday - Friday commencing 10/09/2019 - 15/11/2019. The SA Government is funding eligible participants via...
New Apprentice Pay Rates July 2019 Guide
Employers and apprentices frequently ask us about their pay rates. How much you get paid is a hot topic at trade school! To help out, we have utilised the FairWork Ombudsman's Pay Rate Tool. This is a free resource and I encourage anyone referring to this page to...
Pool Tiling Is An Elective Unit For Apprentice Tilers
Outside of regional areas, pool tilers tend to be specialists who focus exclusively on pools. This unit is an elective that tilers and their apprentices can undertake at FCTA - Building Careers. We've had apprentices enrolled in both solid plastering and wall &...
Bricklaying Remains The Trade With The Greatest Skills Shortage
The HIA Trades Report provides a quarterly review of the availability of skilled trades and any demand pressures on trades operating in the residential building industry. “Building activity has eased across the east coast over the past year and as a result, the...
Have your say about changes to how Bricklayers are trained
Apprentice bricklayers complete a Certificate III in Bricklaying/Blocklaying. This qualification comes from a training package that lists exactly what trade schools must train apprentices in. If you feel that changes should be made, here's your opportunity! Some of...
New Report Reveals Major Skill Gaps
Just as most of our employers have experienced difficulty recruiting apprentices, the Australian Industry Group is reporting on major skills gaps. This report was originally posted: https://www.manmonthly.com.au/news/ai-groups-new-report-reveals-major-skill-gaps/ A...
New Dates for Short Courses – Tiling, Waterproofing & Plastering
We have a range of short courses running before the end of the year. Our most popular tiling courses can be customised for people looking to develop specific skills. These courses are eligible for CITB subsidies for people working in the trades with a CITB membership...
Heritage Trade Training – The Risk Of Inaction
Over the last 20 years, Australia has experienced unprecedented growth in the building and construction industry. Driven by the biggest housing boom in a generation, new builds have been going up all over the country. Demand for Bricklayers, Tilers, Stonemasons and...
Country’s top tradies earning a fortune – news.com.au
THE AUSTRALIAN tradies who make the most money have been revealed. One trade is able to charge nearly has much as $100 per hour. WHEN you think of high-paying jobs, doctors and lawyers usually come to mind. But it turns out being a tradie can be just as lucrative. New...
Apprentice and trainee numbers in South Australian decline but we have employers desperate to hire
A new article in The Advertiser today reports on the decline in the number of apprenticeships. Despite this, we have a huge demand from employers wanting to hire apprentices. The biggest obstacle seems to be the number of under 21's who either do not have a drivers...
HIA-Stratco South Australia Awards Apprentice Bricklayer 2017 – Hayden Ashby
Big congratulations to Haydon Ashby, of Semaphore South, South Australia, for being awarded Apprentice Bricklayer of the Year 2017 in the HIA-Stratco state annual Apprentice & Trade Contractor Awards, held recently in Adelaide. Haydon is now in his third year,...
There’s been another steep fall in the number of people doing apprenticeships | afr.com
by Robert Bolton There's been another steep fall in the number of people doing apprenticeships - although the government claims there are positive signs in the details. At the end of September, there were 291,925 apprentices in training, that was 5.6 per cent fewer...
Plumbing boss hit with $121k fine for ‘exploitation of a young person’
A YOUNG plumber was only paid one-fifth of what he was owed. When he asked his boss about it, all he got was abuse. Source: Plumbing boss hit with $121k fine for ‘exploitation of a young person’ A MAN who told his employee to “seriously, f**k off” after the worker...
Waterproofing Course Being Held 19th – 21st February 2018 At Holden Hill
Our most popular short course on waterproofing will be held on 19/2/18 - 21/2/18 (8am - 3:30pm). This course covers off a practical application of waterproofing to internal wet areas and balconies. The Australian Standards and Building Code will be discussed....
Looking for an apprenticeship? Enrol in the Certificate II in Construction (CPC20112)
The Certificate II in Construction (CPC20112) is often referred to as a 'Pre-apprenticeship' course. This is because employers looking to hire apprentices frequently recruit current students and graduates. Our next course starts 30th January 2018. The course will...
Are school-leavers really not interested in trades?
Originally published: news.com.au AFTER receiving their high school results over the past fortnight, graduates across Australia will be thinking long and hard about their options. But while they’re going through their course options and preparing job applications,...