In this Tall Stories podcast, The Institute’s Southern Region Committee (Otago branch) member and Associate at RCP, Jared Glue speaks with Andrew (Holmsey) Holmes and Blair McGill.

Between them Blair and Holmsey have over 70 years of construction industry experience Holmsey is the Project Director Outpatients - Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora on the New Dunedin Hospital, and Blair is the Regional Manager at Cook Brothers Construction. The pair have experience, stories, advice and wisdom in spades and share it in this episode. 

They discuss:

•  Challenges they have overcome in their career including taking a big step up and managing hundreds of people and getting crushed by 3 tonnes of steel (two name just two!)
• Trying things out early in your career to learn and see what fits – trying different things and get a broad range of experience.
• Changing your mindset – pressure rather than stress and a challenge not a problem.
• Using every project as a learning opportunity – even the ones you don’t enjoy can help you to learn.
• Ask others for help and advice – they are happy to give it but make sure you stay authentic to yourself and your own ideas rather than just taking on someone else’s ideas.
• The bespoke nature of New Zealand’s construction industry – for good and bad.
• The importance of taking opportunities and upskilling to keep from being left behind – particularly when it comes to technology.
• + so many excellent pieces of advice they have accumulated during their time in the industry. 

Listen for the full conversation. 

When recording Tall Stories, we travel around the motu to hear from our people across Aotearoa – this episode was recorded in Ōtepoti | Dunedin at RCP’s offices.