Entry

Entries for 2018 will open in april. The information below was for the 2017 competition. The competition entry criteria and method of judging are being reviewed and will be updated in 2018.

Who is eligible to enter in 2017?

Any carpentry apprentice can enter, but you must be:

• 27 years old or younger on 31 December 2017 and therefore born after 31 December 1989.
• Currently employed by, or contracted to a building firm or a builder at the time of the regional competition being judged.

You'll also need to have:

Completed at least two years of your National Certificate in Carpentry on-site by Tuesday 6 June (or have finished your apprenticeship no more than eight months before applications close i.e. not before 6 October 2016).

Note that you do not need to be working for a Registered Master Builder to enter. The competition is open to any carpentry apprentice, regardless of their training provider i.e. you don't have to be a BCITO apprentice.

How to enter

Entries for 2017 have closed and judging will take place to determine the top 10 in the country.

These 10 will go on to represent their regions at the national final in Auckland on November 2 and 3rd. 

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for alerts regarding entries opening and closing and more! 

Entries for 2018 will open in April.

What to Expect
 

Check out some tips to help you on your way

Entry to the Apprentice of the Year is made up of the following things:

• Personal information section - this is where you tell us who you are and where you're from and give us some contact info so we can get in touch
• Employer information section - this is just some information about who you're working for and contact information for them
• Apprenticeship information section -  we also need a few details about your apprentice and your training provider
• So Apprentice - Why You? section - this is where you tell us in a few words (only 120 or so) why you think you've got what it takes to be the Registered Master Builders CARTERS Apprentice of the Year 2017
• Project Details section - this is where you submit details of a project you are currently working on or have completed while you were training (you can upload online or post to your local RMBA Regional Branch Manager in hard copy)
• Employer Reference -  all you need to do here is ask your employer nicely to send us a letter telling us a few things about you
• Education and Training Advisors Reference - the same as for your employer, but this time from your Training Coordinator or Advisor
• Declaration section - just a tick in a box from you!

And that's it, you can kick back and relax until entries close. Consult our tips for apprentices to ready yourself in case you make the cut: After entries close we'll be in touch to arrange the next stage of the competition, which - if you make the cut, is an interview on site with our judges.

Completed entry examples

If you'd like to see some winning examples, click on the links below.

Callum Bryson- RMB CARTERS 2016 Apprentice of the Year National Winner

Ryan Tesselar - RMB CARTERS 2016 Apprentice of the Year Waikato Region Winner

What happens next?

From here the judging process begins, and is made up of the following stages.

Entry Submission (20 points)

It all starts here - points are allocated for the quality of your initial entry, so take your time with it.

Interview (100 points)

From all the entries the top apprentices in each region to a maximum of ten will be shortlisted to be interviewed by the judging panel. The judging panel is made up of a regional representative from each of three of the competition parties; Registered Master Builders, BCITO and CARTERS.

Site visit (100 points)

The entrants selected to be interviewed will then be visited onsite by the judging panel to discuss the project and their personal contribution to it.

It is to your advantage to link your site visit to your submission - complete builds are fine. Also note your tool kit will be assessed at the site visits and contribute towards your points.

Regional winners and placegetters are announced at award events in your region during August and September.

The 10 regional winners then compete for the National Registered Master Builders CARTERS Apprentice of the Year title. National judging takes place over two days in 2-3 November and includes a 45-minute interview with the national judging panel and a practical skills test, open to the public on the 3rd.

Terms and conditions of entry