Meet Dane Willis
Dane Willis knows the successful career path that can start with a plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying (PGD) apprenticeship. For Dane it led to business ownership.
Dane is co-owner, with Jared Buckley, of Selwyn Drainage Ltd in Christchurch.
When Dane left school 20-odd years ago, he had no clear idea what he wanted to do, then a few days of work experience with a local drainlayer in Lincoln led to a job offer. He stayed with that company until the original owner was winding down toward retirement. Dane recognised an opportunity to work for himself and bought the residential side of that business. Selwyn Drainage Ltd was born.
It’s a great example of how just a few days of work after leaving school can open a young person’s eyes to an opportunity they didn’t otherwise know existed. It’s an opportunity Dane is keen to pass on, now he’s an employer himself.
The Selwyn Drainage team is now 12 strong, including two apprentices currently training through EarnLearn. With most of the Selwyn team having started with the company as apprentices, the company has built a strong culture of sharing knowledge and supporting younger members as they work toward their qualifications.
“I like to bring young people into the business, particularly those who may have found school didn’t suit them that way. We can give them a practical pathway into a career,” Dane says. “Everyone knows about being a builder or an electrician but a lot of people don’t know about drainlaying as a trade option, so we can open them up to something new.”
Selwyn Drainage works closely with local schools to give young people work experience, and test their hand to see if they like the job. “I like giving them a bit of direction because that helped me a lot when I was that age,” Dane says, adding that he also makes time to check in with apprentices, explain practical requirements and work through job layouts and drawings with them.
Key to supporting apprentices through their training is Selwyn Drainage’s relationship with EarnLearn Account Manager Lenore Wright who makes regular visits to the business to check on the apprentice’s progress and make sure they’re meeting their course requirements, and is always at the end of the phone if more support is needed.
“She helps if one of them is stuck on a section, she’s there to get them moving again,” Dane says.
For Dane, apprentices bring fresh energy to the business and a willingness to learn. “It also gives the business an opportunity to develop workers who understand our standards and ways of doing things.”
There’s an added bonus in that sense of pride and satisfaction as you see people gain confidence, and qualify, he says.
To employers weighing up whether to take on an apprentice, Dane’s advice is simple: “Just do it.”
