Paul Roache is a Site Foreman in Mechanical Plumbing, who is employed by A.G Coombs. He did his plumbing apprenticeship through TAFE seven years ago and has now been a qualified plumber for three years. He chose plumbing for a couple of reasons: his father was in the construction industry and steered him towards plumbing because of the opportunities he saw in the future; Paul himself recognised the opportunities and the variety of work available and decided that plumbing was for him.

Being a Site Foreman means that there are more administrative duties in his work today, but he enjoys it. He hopes to eventually do more training with A.G Coombs and move into project management in Mechanical Services. He emphasises that apprenticeships are an excellent option for young people, and certainly not the ‘second choice after university’ that they are sometimes regarded as - in fact, many of the people he knows who went to university graduated with a huge debt and are still earning less than him.