“The whole apprenticeship process was a really positive time in my life.”
– Martin Dingamanse, Director, MODE Electrical
Martin Dingamanse is the Director of MODE Electrical. Specialists in renewable energy, Martin started his business in 2005 as the sole operator. He quickly realised that he needed an additional resource to help him as his business grew.
“When I first started, it was just myself. At that time I didn’t want apprentices, but I realised pretty quickly that wasn’t going to work like that.”
Martin enlisted Work & Training to support the HR and administrative elements of bringing an apprentice into his business.
“I was a one-man-band. I didn’t have the whole admin structure around me. And as I put my brother on as an apprentice, to create just a little bit of professional separation I thought putting him on through a third party like Work & Training would make sense.”
Over time Martin bought on additional apprentices, taking advantage of the flexibility that Work & Training offers.
“It’s taken a good 10 years to get the confidence within our industry that the work will keep going – the solar industry has been so fickle. Having apprentices through Work & Training during this time was really important for us.”
Before starting his own business, Martin also completed his apprenticeship through Work & Training, known then as North Western Group Training.
“For me, the whole apprenticeship process was a really positive time in my life” he says.
As an apprentice, Martin was offered opportunities he believes he would not have been able to access without the support provided by Work & Training.
“I was nominated for the Apprentice of the Year award at Work & Training’s annual awards, which I won. I was put into the overall Tasmanian Apprentice of the Year, which I also won. I went on to represent Tasmania at the national awards and I wouldn’t have gotten that opportunity if I had been employed directly by a small local business” he explains.
“The process gave me a lot of confidence that I was on the right track with what I wanted to do. It was a really big stepping stone and set me up for starting my own business and developing it into what it is now. I got a lot of positive encouragement through Work & Training that I wouldn’t have gotten directly through another employer.”
As his business has grown, Martin continues to focus on having a positive impact not only on his local community, but worldwide.
“We’ve been involved in the Sustainable Living Expo, we’ve been involved with local councils, taking opportunities to speak around sustainability and renewables. We won the Tasmanian Small Business Award in 2016 for work we undertook designing systems to power a hospital in South Sudan” he says proudly.
Martin Dingamanse – Director, MODE Electrical
Could your business use a boost? Taking on an apprentice or trainee through Work & Training could give your business the helping hand it needs.