Growing Your Own Employees

Ken McCulloch - Business Owner
Brad Robinson - Draughtsman
Callan Ridge - Apprentice

Ken McCulloch is a firm believer in “growing your own employees” – and providing training to make them the best fit possible.

His family company, a leading hydraulic and pneumatic engineering service, which started in 1945, naturally has a long-term focus so employees are not seen as short-term fixes.

They generally start as work experience students from local secondary colleges, with those keen then offered apprenticeships in a range of fields from machinists to hydraulic fitters to steel fabricators.

And with the company behind them 100 per cent, they usually decide to stay on as qualified tradespeople when they have finished their apprenticeships.

“We have a high retention rate here,” Ken said. “And it means that as we have slowly expanded we have not had to poach people from the labour market.”

“You could say we are growing our own at home.”

 “We may be a family company but we only have five family members, so we couldn’t do a tenth of the work needed to be successful.

“And over the past 12 months our staff numbers have risen by 15 – not bad seeing it was the during the global financial crisis.”

Brad Robinson – Draughtsman

Brad started working with McCullochs as a fitter and turner apprentice in the machine shop. Once he finished his apprenticeship he continued on for a few more years before becoming more interested in the design side of his work.

He is now enrolled in a Diploma of Engineering, Technical, with the Bendigo Institute of TAFE and working on 3D concepts via the computer. “It just sort of happened,” he says.

“Ken is very keen on nurturing employees and always looks internally which means he keeps staff as long as possible."

Brad says it was important to him to have the support of his employer and other staff members with a new position always offering up challenges and different expectations.

Callan Ridge – Apprentice

Twenty-year-old Callan has been with McCullochs for just over two years and has no plans to move – even when he finishes his fitter and turner apprenticeship.

“I do a bit of everything here,” he says. “We make things, fix things and just do whatever the customer needs. I love the variety of each day and we also go out to sites sometimes.”

Callan says it was obvious, even in the short time he had been with McCullochs, that owner Ken was keen on training whether it was formal or informal.

“Ken will often take an apprentice aside and help teach them different aspects of their work,” he says.

“It’s a really good place to be – I think I’ll stay here.”

Story and photograph courtesy of the Ballarat Courier

Read more about Ken McCulloch as the Goldfields Skills Ambassador