Southern View: May 03, 2016

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10 Tuesday May 3 2016 our PEOPLE > Do you know someone who should be our next Our People? Nominate them now by emailing tom.doudney@starmedia.kiwi SOUTHERN VIEW Phillip Mitchell ‘Filthy’ work with pipes and plumbing AT WORK: Phillip Mitchell has been a plumbing tutor at the Ara Institute of Canterbury for many years. At 73, he is still going strong working three days a week. Phillip Mitchell has had his hand in the city’s pipes for half a century. He talks with Matthew Salmons about his life as a plumber, being a tutor and winning the Graeme Victor Smith Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award Well Phillip, you’re clearly the plumbing master around here, but why did you decide to get into the trade in the first place? My father went with me to a vocational guidance counsellor in the square. The guy that was interviewing me said ‘I know a bloke by the name of Athol Jamieson.’ He knew him on a fairly friendly basis so I went and saw him. He had a fairly large company and said ‘there’s a job there if you want it.’ I’d seen plumbers, we’d not long had the sewerage put on in the house and a flush toilet put in, which you guys would take for granted now. I was fascinated. So I thought ‘it’s not a bad idea’, and that’s what it was. So when did you start your apprenticeship? In the days when I did my apprenticeship, you signed up for what they called a 12,000 hour apprenticeship which equates to six years. In that era, when you got to your fifth year you could sit your license and if you passed your exam you didn’t have to do your sixth year, so there was a lot of incentive there. In those days it was about five pounds a week which probably equates to, I don’t know, $200 these days. A tradesman now could get about $30 an hour, about $1200 a week, and an apprentice, well they probably get more than $200, so a lot of incentive there to pass. I spent most of my apprenticeship under a guy named Bill Walsh, an Irish plumber, and also with his brother John. They were ship’s plumbers, they were fastidious. If something happened it was either right or it was wrong. And after you finished your apprenticeship did you stay with the same company? No, after I finished I left plumbing for a wee while and I did quantity surveying. It was a very good experience and I was fortunate that I had the trades experience to do it. It was very enjoyable. Did you work on any big projects? I did, it was Wilkins and Davies I was working for at the time. The buildings at Canterbury University were being built then, and we worked on them. That was straight out of my apprenticeship, so when I left that I went to learn about drain laying. I’ve always enjoyed drain laying. When you’re doing it, you feel like you’ve achieved more than you would working in a bathroom. I did that for the best part of a year, then I put the sewerage into John Walsh’s house. That was the practical part of my exam. I started working for a drain laying firm then, but they went out of business, so at about 23 I started working for myself. You knew nothing then, but that was beside the point because you thought you did and you had to get experience the hard way. So I was working for myself for a while and I was doing some tutoring at night. When you’re tutoring and still in the trades, to the students, you’re still a plumber. Working full time and tutoring at nights, it must’ve taken a toll on your social life? I was young, I was only about INVITING EXHIBITORS NOW! Showcase your products or services to more than 20,000 customers SHOW 1ST-3RD JULY 2016 HORNCASTLE ARENA BOOKINGS VANESSA FLEMING | P 03 379 7100 | M 021 914 565 vanessa.fleming@starmedia.kiwi starhomeshow.co.nz A Star Media Event
SOUTHERN VIEW Tuesday May 3 2016 11 still enjoyable after more than 50 years 27 when I finished that and when you’re young you could burn the candle at both ends a bit. Where did you do your tutoring? In town, it was called Christchurch Technical College then - it has had about three name changes since then. It was only one night a week at that stage. That was about 1969, then me and another guy started commercial drain laying. We had a lot of fun, we did all of the drainage at QE II which was a monstrous job, but we just got stuck in and got on with it. We were young and wishful, ‘of course we can bloody well do it.’ Far out, was it only you two doing the job? No, we had 10 staff on. We updated the Kaiapoi sewerage plant as well. It was physical, hard work but enjoyable. You were outside all the time. Sometimes you wore yourself out, but that’s just life. We formed a partnership called Mitchell and Rodgers. You used to be filthy everyday, but that’s part of your life and you hope that you can look back on your life and have enjoyed it. How did it feel to receive that award? I thought why me? I’d started in 2005 with just me, with another tutor joining in 2006 and another in 2007. We now have eight, virtually a new tutor every year. We do work for the Schools Organisation and Ara managed apprenticeships in plumbing and gas fitting. We’ve grown and grown, I have to ask myself, is this real? It’s been an absolutely fantastic journey building this thing, I have had some really great support, and I didn’t do it alone by any stretch of the imagination. I’m putting back what I got out of the industry. The biggest thing for me is the recognition of offsite job training. Having been in the industry so long, what sort of changes have you seen? Basically, when I started there was a horrendous amount of lead; it was the material of the time for waste pipes, sewer pipes and roof flashings. I only know of two plumbers who got lead poisoning. After that, it graduated to Copper. Copper’s priced itself out of the market now, but it’s a marvellous material to work with. We used to have to fabricate everything, but now it’s plastic and made fit for purpose. The skill sets have changed due to the change of materials. And your family has been supportive for all this time, tutoring and working? I could never have done it without the support of my wife, Beth, she’s always worked in the background. Where did you meet your wife? Through one of my cousins, she was a friend of hers, they bought us together, many years ago now but that’s alright. We went to the pictures, the usual courting thing, it was different then than it is today, 6 o’clock closing, it was the 6 o’clock swill. We went to dances and the pictures, things like that, nothing out of the ordinary. Where did you grow up? In Marshland Rd, bottom end, so I’m not very far from home. There wasn’t many houses. We were in one of the houses at the bottom end. It was still basically farmlands, was still in the country then. Shirley Lodge it was called then, I don’t know what it’s called now, we were midway between that and Shirley Rd, but we still lived in the country. And where did you go to school? Shirley Primary of course, my great-grandparents on one side took up land on the side of Marshland Rd, so it was pretty family orientated from there. Every kid’s good at school, I was just an average kid at school. I didn’t excel at anything. My mother would’ve thought I was outstanding. Has your passion for plumbing been passed on to your kids? No, I’ve got two daughters and one grandson who is 32. I used to take him on work experience, he enjoyed it, and he could’ve done it blind, but he said there was too much to learn. But for the students, I’ve chosen my path, I have to sell them the industry. I have to tell them the pluses and the fun they’ll have on the RECOGNITION: Phillip Mitchell received the Graeme Victor Smith Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award last month, at the New Zealand Plumbing Awards. journey. You go to work for fun, if you don’t enjoy your work, get another job! I’ve got to be passionate about the industry. Not looking at retirement? Well, I’m only working three days a week, I treat it as a hobby now, not a job. I’m going to be 74 in a fortnight, so I guess I’ll have to sooner or later, but I’m still enjoying it. You’ve got to look at it and say ‘well, I better pull back’. It’s such a privilege to see it working so well. Me getting the award was a positive for Ara Institute of Canterbury, showing that tutors and support staff are readily available to keep things moving forward. ORGANIC HORTICULTURE COURSES Instruction in organic horticulture is now well established at the Lincolnbased Organic Training College. The next year-long course, which begins on 1st August, will be the ninth intake for the college. Students need no prior qualifications or experience to commence Year One and can study full or part-time. Those who have some horticultural background can go straight into Year Two. An added appeal of the course is that all fees are under $500, and full time students are eligible to apply for a loan or allowance through Studylink. Course Director Bill Martin says it works well to start the course year in the spring. “The organic horticulture course is all about growing so we want to start the course in spring when it is the right time to begin planting.” Year One students get plenty of hands on training in subjects such as sowing and planting organic crops, soil management and composting. The Year Two students have the option of using land and facilities on the Biological Husbandry Unit (BHU) Farm to grow and sell their own certified produce – a semicommercial venture that gives students a real taste of organic horticulture as a business. The students grow vegetables under the guidance of a mentor and sell them at a weekly stall at Lincoln University “The Year Two programme gives the students experience in a commercial environment without any risk. It’s the icing on the cake for a lot of the students here,” says Bill Martin. As well as the year-long organic horticulture courses a distance (correspondence) programme in organics is also available. The Organic Training College is located at the Biological Husbandry Unit at Lincoln University. There are 10 hectares of certified organic land as well as greenhouses, tunnel houses and research areas. Students selling their organic produce, Lincoln University. Organic Training College Learn from the experts Start a career in organics. Reduce your footprint and produce a regular supply of your own fruit and vegetables Programme Information college@bhu.org.nz www.bhu.org.nz | 03 3253684 Courses • Organic Distance Programme Part time 1 year, enrol anytime • Year 1 Introduction to Organics 44 weeks, starts August 2016 (Lincoln Campus) • Year 2 Applied Organics 46 weeks, starts August 2016 (Lincoln Campus) All fees under $500
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Southern View: May 03, 2016

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