Careers in Building & Construction: Construction supervisor
This week we caught up with Builders Academy graduate Ben France, on site at a Simonds Homes project in Melbourne. Ben studied Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building) CPC40120 and is now a construction supervisor for Simonds Metro West. Check out the gallery for his take on training, moving into work and respecting his trades.
Expand your career options with the right training course
Are you in a trade and ready to take the next step in your building & construction career? Builders Academy Australia are running construction supervisor training courses online such as our Certificate IV & Diploma level qualifications in Building & Construction. These courses are a perfect stepping stone towards getting your builders licence and registration. See our training course pages for more information, or call us on 1300 LEGEND to speak to one of our consultants today.
CPC50220 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building)
CPC40120 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building)
Name: Ben France, 32
Job: Construction supervisor
“I’m a construction supervisor. It entails the entire process of running jobs, from plumbers doing undergrounds, concreters doing the slab, electricians, framers to plastering, fix out, tilers, painters, handover… the whole kit and kaboodle.”
Find out how much more you could be earning as a registered builder through BAA.
“I’ve been working on sites pretty much since I was 15. I started out working as a carpenter for four or five years, and then laid bricks for nine years. About halfway through that I decided I wanted to be a supervisor. I needed that Certificate IV to back it up and give me the required qualifications.”
“The Certificate IV gives you a real idea of what a supervisor’s role will be like. For example, you learn how to use a schedule sheet for booking out a job. It gives you a good idea of processes and timeframes for each trade. I now use software that is similar to that sheet.”
“The Certificate IV defines the Australian standards of each trade, so you get a better understanding of a trade’s work. If a tradie has a problem and they ask you a question, if you don’t know the answer they’re just going to think, ‘What does he know?’ Whereas if you can sit down and work it out with them, you get a lot more respect.”
“I was working the whole time I was doing the Certificate IV. I had classes two nights a week so I could continue running my business. When I was just about finished, I approached the managers in Simonds Metro West and continued on from there.”
Find out how much more you could be earning as a registered builder through BAA.
“You’ve got to be on your toes. If stuff goes wrong you’ve got to know how to fix it and how fast you can fix it, when to push other trades out and when to keep the ball rolling.”
“The best part of my job is really the whole process: seeing the slab go down, the frame go up, and right through to completion. Then it’s happy clients. You want to deliver them the best possible house you can, so when they’re over the moon with the finished product, it’s awesome.”
“I want to continue up the ladder, so to speak, to management. The next role from here would be a construction manager, and then you can go from there to building manager. Where that takes you is pretty much endless. For example, you could become a general manager or work in product development, which is overseeing how things are done on site and bettering them.”
“Just persist, persist. If you’ve got a dream, follow it. There might be hard roads to get to it, but just persist and keep doing it.”
Find out how much more you could be earning as a registered builder through BAA.
Speak to the team today to learn more about our online virtual classroom training courses
Legend. Thanks Ben! For more info on training with Builders Academy, including the Diploma of Building & Construction (Building) virtual training qualification, visit our courses page or give us a call on 1300 534 363 (LEGEND). We look forward to hearing from you.
CPC50220 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building)
CPC40120 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building)