‘Apprentice of the Year’ hat trick for Red Steel

Caleb Ireland is named SCNZ Apprentice of the Year for 2023.

Once is lucky. Twice is smart. But winning the SCNZ Apprentice of the Year three times in the event’s eight year history is just bloody brilliant.

Red Steel is celebrating in what is becoming a familiar style after Caleb Ireland was recently recognised as the best apprentice in New Zealand’s structural steel industry for 2023.

It is the second year in a row the Hawke’s Bay steel fabrication company has taken the title after Zayne Pullan won in 2022. In 2016 the title was won for the first time by Red Steel apprentice, Thomas Forbes.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Caleb for this national recognition. The criteria and judging is tough and to be named the best at what you do at the start of your career is incredibly motivating,” said Red Steel Managing Director, Bob Hawley.

The Company credits experience, a strong culture and a sense of family values for their continuing recognition of excellence at the awards.

“We don’t just talk about being the best at what we do as steel fabricators in NZ, we try to live it every single day and in every job we do. Passing that work ethic along to our steel apprentices means they get the fire in their belly early and are driven to succeed,” says Bob.

Caleb Ireland celebrates his success with the Red Steel team.

When awarding Ireland the title, the judges noted that he possesses maturity beyond his years and is a leader of the future.

Red Steel was impressed with Ireland’s passion to develop himself. “Caleb has become a diligent and dependable employee who inspires others with his ability to learn quickly and collaborate,” says Alister Varcoe, Workshop Manager of Red Steel. “He maintains a high level of quality and requires little motivation to achieve agreed deadlines, even on the most challenging of projects.”

SCNZ Chair David Moore says it’s pleasing to see more and more young people choosing a trade as a career path.

“People now recognise that trades offer numerous avenues for success, thanks to New Zealand’s robust construction sector and growing demand for exceptional performance and delivery capability,” says Moore.

“As a well-established industry we have a duty to ensure we impart our knowledge and skills to the next generation of structural steel specialists. This will safeguard the future of the sector and support our economic recovery.”

The industry is practising what it preaches. More than 10 percent of the total workforce employed by local structural steel contractors are in a training programme, and 70 percent of structural steel contractors employ an average of five apprentices.

Zayne Pullan from Red Steel was the 2022 SCNZ Apprentice of the Year.

2022 winner, Zayne Pullan, was an inspiration to Caleb and seeing his Napier colleague take out the title the previous year made him realise such an accomplishment was well within his grasp.

Zayne is now fully qualified and adds his experience to the team of Red Steel fabricators and welders as the Company continues to expand its reputation as one of NZs leading steel fabricators.

"Zayne is now one of our leading fabricators and completes with ease some of the most challenging fabrication and welding projects that Red Steel has ever seen," says Workshop Manager, Alister Varcoe.

Pullan's positive attitude towards work, coupled with his ability to bring fresh ideas to the table, made him a highly valuable employee. He quickly became proficient at interpreting drawings and ensuring the safe handling of structural steel components.

With Red Steel now developing a reputation as the breeding ground for the best steel fabricators in the business, the current crop of apprentices are feeling the pressure for next year’s awards. But is it a challenge they are up for?

“Absolutely,” says Bob Hawley.

“If it was easy, everyone would do it and all of our team love nothing more than rising to a challenge and succeeding.”