Gundry's Grumbles with Simon Gundry
Simon Gundry is a Devonport and North Shore identity, and character, who is known for calling a spade a spade. He is a director of contracting company Gill & Gundry, is an enthusiastic and active sailor (past crew-member of Ceramco New Zealand and Lion New Zealand in Whitbread Round The World races and Shockwave in Admiral’s Cup) and is a life member of the North Shore Rugby Football Club. This is his regular and lively contribution to CHANNEL.
Trades, Training And… What Do We Do Now?
The Pohutukawa blossoms have all gone, although the days remain warm. Back into the turmoil of work, the Christmas holidays are now a fading memory.
No. 2 son has returned to Europe for another season of sailing, no. 3 son is back in his tunnel in Brisbane, no. 4 son has returned from the United States where he spent six months on a ship as a diesel engineer learning a wonderful trade with the Holland American line.
Ever since the boys have been young I have talked to them about getting a passport to the world, that is, an education and skills that can take them around the world. No. 1 son is a carpenter, no. 2 son is a wooden boat builder, no. 3 son is a surveyor out of Otago University, no. 4 son is with the New Zealand Maritime School as a cadet maritime engineer and no. 5 son is putting himself through flying school. I believe their ability to play a bit of rugby, a bit of cricket and with a good sound work ethic they can go anywhere in the world.
I find it very sad to see, so often, good young people putting themselves through tertiary education, coming out the other end after several years with a large debt, but unable to find employment that suits them. It is disturbing to see the unemployment figures rising in January, a lot of it being put down to university students unable to find jobs in their chosen fields.
Recently I was talking to a friend of one of my boys, who had finished his degree and with no job opportunity in his chosen field, he’s now pushing a barrow and concreting foundations for us. I don’t believe as a country we put enough emphasis on young people who want a trade as a career. University doesn’t suit everybody; I believe there is too much emphasis put on a university education. I believe we should be encouraging some of our kids to take up a trade, there is a shortage of good tradesmen. I think the Government should introduce incentives for employers to take on apprentices, to train them in carpentry, plumbing, or to be electricians. There is no incentive to take on young people at all, you get them very raw out of school and it takes a good year to get them up to speed to be worthwhile for an employer to have in a trade. When we get this raw young person, we have to pay them $13 an hour just to be there – that’s a significant investment to be made before they can make a worthwhile contribution as an employee.
I believe that we have priorities quite wrong in this country, the idea of taking young, at-risk youth on a ten day cruise on something like the Spirit of New Zealand gives them the wrong message. I read recently that they have taken young, at-risk people on ski trips – they should be training them in some worthwhile field to give them a sense of worth and aspiration. I don’t believe a ten day trip on the Spirit of New Zealand is going to give anyone a sense of worth, just a sense of entitlement – something that far too many people in this country already have.
How things have changed over the last few years, our supermarkets used to be the training grounds for the local school kids – at 4 o’clock they’d be there in their uniforms, on the checkouts, packing groceries etc. All my boys learned basic work ethics at the local New World in Devonport. Now it is completely staffed by new immigrants. The other day I was trying to find some horseradish sauce – I had to ask four different people before I finally found someone who knew what I was talking about. I sometimes wonder if we are selling this country short by bringing in all these new immigrants; some of these people are very well qualified, why are they packing groceries, or driving cabs – I am very confused about all this.
Another bit of a grumble is about the state of our service industry – I think it needs a big rocket for the Rugby World Cup. We are going to have a huge influx of visitors - in so many cafes and restaurants the service is perfunctory to say the least. I’ve spent a lot of time in California over the years and that’s a place that knows about service – I think we could learn a lot from them. You’re greeted at the entry to a restaurant with a big smile, shown instantly to a table and given a glass of ice cold water. You’re not left for 5-10 minutes without any acknowledgement, as so commonly happens in this city. I hope this year we don’t overprice and under deliver in the service industry.
That’s it for now, enjoy the rest of the warm weather – soon it’ll be footy season again, standing around the touchlines in the wind and rain in damp gumboots.
State King Of The Bays LEADS WAY...
