Hey everyone, newly qaulified chippy here ineed of some advice from the pros.

[milwaukeeman]

hey everyone, my name is Elliot and i have recently completed my apprenticeship.

atm our site has finished, so we are all out of work ( work for Palm lakes Resort in Brisbane) so here i am looking for work just like every 2nd carpenter.

iam having trouble adjusting to finding work for myself with the lack of knowledge when it comes to finding work and communicating with the builders considering i had a apprenticeship company baby me for the past 4 years...( which i think is BS because its a "good bye, good luck" and no information on actually HOW to keep yourself employed.)

all my contacts are out of work

so, here is the biggest question "HOW DO I GO ABOUT LOOKING FOR WORK?"

is their something i can read like "BEING A SOLE TRADER for dummies" or something like that??


to show you my lack of knowledge on the whole business
- i dont know if iam a sub contractor or not, all i know is iam a carpenter with a CERT III

- i dont know what to say when i get asked if i charge hourly or i price a job by sq/mtre (this is when i talk to builders, not cash jobs)

- how many insurances do i actually NEED?? i have only PUB liability and Income protection.


- what paperwork is involved when i start working for a company

- how do i get paid? do i just give them my invoice of total hours worked? or start breaking things down into sq/mtres....( btw where do i find out sq/mtre rates of things)

...iam really lost

on the other side of things, i am very good at my job, i have great references and i have full confidence and passion for my profession, i just dont give off a professional image, instead a typical "young fella with not idea" image.

some help guys , cheers

[chambezio]

I feel for you my boy!
What did you do the most of? By that I mean were you doing domestic work (houses,units) or did you get into high rise?
I think If I was in your place, I would try to work for a contractor who does the type of work you enjoy, rather than being self employed.
Then just keep an ear to the ground and have a look at doing something better.
Your status at the moment would be Tradesman Carpenter. To be a Subcontractor you will need to get accreditation from Dept Fair Trading (my be called different in Qld).
We were all as "green as grass" once so it not an uncommon state to be in. I would imagine you are not comfortable right now. Understandable. Just don't commit yourself to doing something/someone that could take advantage of you in the circumstances
Actually Dept Fair Trading should have literature telling you what you need to have to become a subcontractor
Keep us informed with how you get on. Feel free to "have a chat" on here as well as there is plenty of experience just waiting for you to tap into.

[milwaukeeman]

thanks Chambezio,

your exactly right on the taken advantage part of things, i feel like easy prey considering my lack of knowledge of the building game, pays, the law, my obligations ETC.

Iam skilled in pretty much all ranges of Carpentry, but ive mainly been working with your standard frame, truss roof, cladding, fixouts, eaves ETC... so residential. Ive worked on commercial aswell.

i guess the problem is that their is literally NO WORK here in the Brisbane area, which i would be contributing too 50% of my problem considering iam mainly residential experienced and i suspected that all the long timers already have their foot in the door with all the residential thats managed to stay alive.

so atm ive been visiting recruitment agencies, sending resumes, checking SEEK and jobsearch, careerone all that hopefully to get SOMETHING! thats all you can really do after all your reliable contacts have no new contracts going.

ive even considered moving to Perth just because i hear theirs at least chances of working a full week over there...but thats a last resort

[rustynail]

This is an unfortunate time to find yourself out of work. Most builders, at the moment are scratching to make ends meet. Hence your current situation. If I were you, I wouldnt be in a hurry to set up as self employed. You are going to need a bit more experience before heading down that path. If you are good at your trade you are of value to any business out there. All you have to do is find one needing staff. Dont be appologetic or come across as a young fella with no idea. You do have an idea... Four years worth of idea and some passion to boot. The reason you dont give off a professional image is because you are a no BS kind of guy. If you did, it would be bravado and ego talking. Put youself out there. You sound ok to me.

[chambezio]

Just take things quietly so you don't fall into a situation that may be hard to get of.
You seem to have covered all the bases, so now just wait and see.
Travelling away may be alright for some but its not everyones cup of tea
Something will turn up

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to the forum Elliot.
You'll find a heap of helpful & knowledgable bokes & ladies on the forum.
I'm sorry but on your questions I can't actually help.
I know may builder mate here on the Blue Mountains is a member of the HIA which he finds very helpful in regard to the rules, regulations & documentation side.
Also the Queensland Government will have something like a Dept of Fair Trading which should be able to give you advice.
I'd encourage you to start asking around family, friends, neighbours for any sort of carpentry or maintenance work.
Be prepared to almost anything in the early days to get the paid work.
Make sure you do the job RIGHT FIRST TIME as it's very costly to have to come back & redo what you should have done in the first place; this will start you on the road to a QUALITY reputation.
I hope that's some assistance.
Cheers crowie

[milwaukeeman]

If I were you, I wouldnt be in a hurry to set up as self employed. You are going to need a bit more experience before heading down that path.

hmm, to be honest i kind of actually thought that being a sole trader means that i am basically self employed considering i charge my skills and tools out to a company/builder and if the work stops, then move somewhere else with no obligations...always thought that this also meant that iam technically a sub contractor.

so if iam not a sub contractor, nor self employed...what role do i play as a tradesmen Carpenter.

my guess is that iam my own BOSS..but iam still an employee to anyone who is willing to pay me for my skills and tools UNTIL i get my subbies ticket or my builders license...THEN i can contract MYSELF and my (future) TEAM out to bigger companys.

is this the correct way of thinking about it?

one last question:

since iam not a subbi, does this mean i only run off hourly rate? i had a recent offer in Mackay for $56 a sqmtr for framing. but since i will be joining a team that takes the contract, i would only expect an hourly rate? or a share of that $56.

thanks !

[Kidbee]

Hello Elliot. I think you need to shop around for a good accountant, who is familiar with both builders and subbies, who can set you straight about your sole trader enquiry and other concerns such as tax provisions, business activity statements, claimable expenses etc.etc.

Are you looking for any type of work associated with the building trade?

What area of Brisbane do you live, north, south, east, west?

From what I hear there is work further north at places like Gladstone?

Does a Milwaukeeman use Makita?

[milwaukeeman]

haha, i have 3 makitas, my planer and my trusty 9 & quarter circular and droppy.

i LOVE milwaukee tools ( have pretty much all) but am not fond of spending upto $1500 for their drop saw thats full of useless technology and laser crap.

makita and milwaukee arnt really what they used to be considering milwaukee is now hong kong owned.

i live in southern brisbane, but being a not such a vast city my work can take me anywhere.

yeah the work seems to be concentrating around the middle bay side of queensland....just not in brissy

[rustynail]

Your roll would be as a Tradesman Carpenter. Hourly rate, part time or full time.
The responsibilities you take on as a sole trader, sub contractor are better faced a little further down the track. I understand that many of the larger companies will only employ subbies and if that is your only option you are stuck with it. The ideal situation would be with a smaller company doing regular production work where wage earning employee is a better proposition for them. In turn, this would also be a better proposition for you, as work would be a bit more reliable in hard times. BTW its not only small companies that pay wages, hospital maintainance, ships carpenter, mines, just to name a few.
When the time comes to venture out on your own it should be when you feel comfortable to do it.

[milwaukeeman]

thx rusty, thats really cleared it up for me.

I realise where my mistake has been, i kept thinking that i was a subcontractor and that i had to fend for myself looking for work. And if i did find work i was clueless when they asked me to price a job and asked me how many blokes i had working for me haha

your right, the perfect situation for me is to find someone that i can attach myself too, and just work for a flat hourly rate and gain more experience through the years.

cheers guys, i finally have some clue on what the hell i should be doing

[Christos]

Lets hope you now get a job. You have a few on this forum barracking for you.