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Anthony
To be honest, I couldn't live in the city.
Love to visit but I'm a country boy through and through.
Born in Narrandera. My parents had a family farm at Barellan.
At the age of nine, moved to Wagga so been in Wagga sixteen years now.
The country, you know, this is where I belong.
Wagga's, you know, it's a country town but it's got the facilities and industry of a city
so I suppose, as you could say, it's a city out in the country.
From a young age, you know, I've always loved the outdoors,
always loved building stuff and doing things with my hands.
I do believe I am passionate about what I do because I build stuff like it's mine, you know.
I put me heart and soul behind it.
So during my apprenticeship I completed
Certificate III in Carpentry and Joinery.
I then left it a couple of years and then come back
to complete my Certificate IV in Building and Construction.
On the job site there is times when we're working to deadlines.
Basically, sometimes the boss doesn't have time
to go through different scenarios or decisions he's made
with you so you could be at TAFE the next day and
you ask the teacher and he'll answer, not a problem at all,
you know, they've got all the time in the world to spend with you at TAFE
So basically you're in the best of both worlds with the TAFE
and with your boss on site.
It taught me the fundamentals of the building industry.
It taught me quoting, book-keeping, business planning.
It was a well rounded education.
What really impressed me, was what it taught me
about running my own small business.
I still have a strong connection, relationship with the teachers.
I still drop back in to see the guys when I'm in the neighbourhood.
They're always interested in what's going on out in the industry and on sites.
Yeah it's fantastic.
As soon as I finished TAFE and my apprenticeship
I thought, you know, why work for another guy and make him rich?
You know, I wanted to work for myself.
Bit the bullet. Went out on my own. Big step.
It certainly paid off. I haven't looked back.
and I just want to keep growing my business.
It is a great feeling. You know, you put in the hard yards
at the start throughout your apprenticeship, your training
and it pays off to be able to run your own business
and it is very rewarding.
The future for me, within the building industry
is bigger and bolder.
I want to grow my small business into a large business.
I can't wait.