Employer Spotlight: GB Builders

It was a case of combining your talents into one?

Yes, we’ve been working together for years, and we had loads of work coming in so we just said ‘let’s set up a company together to make things easier’ and that’s what we did.

We do quite a lot of domestic work like house refurbs, extensions, kitchen refurbs and garage conversions. We’ve mainly done domestic work but this current project is more of a commercial one.

We work mainly in the Wigan and Leigh area. We’ve got a job coming up in Atherton next week. We do sometimes get enquiries from farther afield but we’ve got enough to get on with here in the Wigan area.

Can you tell us about this current project you’re working on? How did it come about?

We found some land behind the old police station near Platt Bridge, Wigan, with planning permission to build four three-story townhouses together from scratch.

When we started the project, we knew we didn’t have the facilities for the workers on the site. So, when a property across the road came up for sale, we bought that to use for a brew room, dining room and toilets for the lads. After we’ve finished the townhouses, we’ll renovate the ‘facilities’ property and rent it out.

Good thinking! Buy it, use it for tea and toilets, then do it up as a home. That’s a great way to overcome a small challenge. And speaking of challenges, what are the biggest ones you’ve faced as a company since you started?

Cost of materials. It’s easing off a bit now but when we first set up, it was during COVID and everybody bumped their prices up. It was hard work pricing up the jobs, because they’re not little jobs that we were doing:  they’re extensions which were are planned 3-4 months in advance. By the time we got to do the job – materials had shot up in price. And it was really hard because me and Paul have always stuck to the price we give. We’ll take the hit if the price of materials goes up. We might benefit if it goes down, but that isn’t very often.

Why were prices bumped up after COVID? Was that due to a supply shortage?

I’d say there was a big increase in demand for building work and refurbs. Everybody wanted work doing because they couldn’t go on holiday. So instead, they were spending money on their homes.

You’ve got lots of experience behind you in many construction areas – project management, supervision, joinery, and now running commercial projects like this one. Other than the apprenticeship, have you done any other training or qualifications?

Yes, I’ve done loads of courses. I’ve done my NVQ in Supervision, SMSTS, my IOSH health and safety; PASMA; asbestos training, manual handling. I even started an NVQ in customer service with BAE Systems but I left before I got it finished.

How did you find the customer service training? Has it helped you in your construction career?

The thing that stuck in my head was what they called the ‘wow factor’. Go above and beyond for the customer: do that little bit extra. That has really helped me with running my own business.

You mentioned your NVQ in Supervision which you did with us a few years ago. What were your initial thoughts about doing the qualification and how did you find the process?

I’ve done similar training and qualifications like that before, so it wasn’t a worry. My assessor came out to site and watched me supervising jobs, and we had a lot of discussions by phone. I couldn’t get my head around the job knowledge questions at first because they were worded differently to any other qualification I’ve done before. But my assessor supported me over the phone. Whenever I had questions about the qualification, I got answers.

Was getting your CSCS Supervisors card a factor in doing the NVQ?

Partly. If I need it in future – and I’m hoping I won’t – I’ll have the CSCS card and I’ll be able to go back onto site and be a supervisor again.

Before we started this project, we didn’t know at the time whether you needed to be a manager and whether you needed a card and all that. We couldn’t really get a straight answer off anybody about whether we needed a qualified manager in place. We eventually found out that it’s up to whoever owns the company. But Paul’s got his SMSTS and obviously I’ve been through my supervisors NVQ.

You’ve got a few lads working for you. Are any of them doing training or qualifications at the moment?

We’ve put Darren (permanent subcontractor) through his SSSTS and we’ve got Jack doing a joinery apprenticeship through Wigan College. We’ve had grants from the CITB for any bits of training we need so we’ve put Jack on some training courses because he needs the experience.

Is there an element of training on the job with your guys, or do they know it already?

Paul’s a bricklayer and I’m a joiner. So, between us we know a bit of everything. With Jack, Brian and Darren, if they lack experience in a particular area, we show them what they need to do and how to do it – like putting stud walls up or doing a bit of bricklaying. Brian’s done construction all his life – he’s been a groundworker and flagger. And we’ve got another Paul working for us who is a bricklayer by trade, but he also does joinery, a bit of plumbing…in fact he’s wiring up the house today. He’ll get all the cables in and then the electrician will come in and connect it all up.

You’ve clearly got a big range of skill and experience within the team. And it’s great to see you taking on a young apprentice and helping him get started in construction. What would you say to other school-leavers thinking about getting into construction?

I’d recommend it as a career choice – definitely! You’ve got a bit of everything in construction. You’re not doing the same thing day in, day out. You’re going to different places, meeting different people. It’s never mundane.

It’s not like us on the DMR marketing team, sitting in our office all day, hammering away at a computer keyboard! Thanks for the chat, John, and good luck with the business.

Cheers.