Chris joined the construction industry as a carpentry apprentice straight from school. Chris then had a short time of self-employment, before starting work with a mid-sized company specialising in leaky homes. James saw first-hand the results of poor design or workmanship, and this provided him with the knowledge base and skills to ensure that buildings that he is involved in, are water tight.

Chris joined Dominion Constructors ‘on the tools’ in 2011, and within a year he was promoted to the position of Junior Site Supervisor in charge of a $23m apartment complex. In 2013 Dominion had identified the growth in multi residential projects of scale in the Auckland market, and had made the decision to develop specific capability to deliver large residential developments. A new Residential Division was created within the company, and Chris was provided the opportunity to be part of the new team. Chris’ strong residential background was a perfect fit, and he was involved from day one in the setup of the new enterprise. He developed policies and work methods that aligned with the principles and values of Dominion, but were better suited to residential building. Four years on, Chris has just completed his largest challenge, managing a development of thirteen houses.

Chris also leads and manages the Dominion Apprenticeship programme, which currently numbers 15 apprentices, who obtain experience in all sectors of the trade, including their rotation across different teams. Chris broke the apprenticeship training into 16 blocks (one per quarter across four years) and developed an in-house apprenticeship manual, which sets out pay structures linked to work they needed to complete, and the creation of six-weekly review meetings. The result is that apprentices become driven to complete the required work packages so that they can control their own pay rises.

The Judges commented that Chris is “an exceptional professional, whose achievements over such a short career are outright impressive.”