Floyd Northcott – My Resin Flooring journey

I got into the trade because I needed a job. Honestly, that’s how it was. I dropped out of college, was looking for a job, and Bernard took me on.

Not a lot of people know about Resin Flooring. If people want to know more detail about what we do, I tell them to look at places like swimming pools because the flooring around the pool will most likely be resin. It can be pretty hard to describe–how many people pay attention to the floor they are walking on?

I’m the type of person that can’t stand being in one place all the time. This job is great as we get to travel all over the country. Not many people do this highly specialised type of flooring, so we go where the work is.

My most memorable trip was getting stuck in Gisborne during the cyclone when they shut the roads. The job was 1,880 square metres which meant I was in Gisborne for four months—that’s a huge job for us. To see the job be completed is such a good feeling, and it’s nice to say you’ve worked on such a grand scale project. You know you’ve prepped all of this yourself—it’s great to see it all come together as a finished product.

I’ve had the opportunity to go to Fiji, Hobart, Australia—all over the show. I wouldn’t have been able to go to these places without being employed in Resin Flooring. I’ve never travelled the country as much as I have with resin. I wouldn’t have gone to Gisborne on my own as I have no real reason to go there—but it was cool to see that part of the country and yeah, being paid to do it.

It’s great working as part of a team. You know the boss expects the best out of us and we always try to give him our best because we know he wants a quality product - everyone wants that, and we deliver. Especially in a burgeoning industry, you can’t present a sub-standard product – you’ve got to stay on top of it all the time. It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding to be able to say, yep, no repairs on this job!

I'm proud that I’ve completed my apprenticeship and I’m glad to be running sites. My “lofty” goal for the next five years is to be off the tools and I’m not discounting undertaking further study to take me into a leadership role. I’d be keen to travel as some of the types of jobs I’ve worked on are done differently in other countries. Even in Australia they do things differently.

It’s great to be qualified and my family are oh so proud of me. It didn’t all happen without hard work, but it was worth it. Without hesitation, I recommend doing an apprenticeship in Resin Flooring. Great teamwork, travel, variety of work – and a great boss to boot!