Western Australian builder Ray Kershaw has been named ‘young builder of the year’ by the Master Builders Association, marking the fourth consecutive year the national prize has been won from this state.
Western Australian builder Ray Kershaw has been named ‘young builder of the year’ by the Master Builders Association, marking the fourth consecutive year the national prize has been won from this state.
The 31 year old is director of Mondo Exclusive Homes, which he launched nearly six years ago.
Mr Kershaw got his builder’s licence at the age of 25, which made him the state’s youngest builder at the time.
The MBA’s young builder of the year award is open to any builder across Australia under 40 years old.
Mr Kershaw’s win follows those of Cachet Homes’ Chris Lillis, who won in 2012, Savvy Construction’s Ryan Cole (2013) and Geraldton Homes’ Serena Giudice, who became the first female builder to win the award last year.
Mr Kershaw said he was pleased to continue the state’s legacy of success among its younger generation of builders.
The MBA award was judged on the quality of work and craftsmanship of Mr Kershaw’s homes, including client testimonials and industry references from engineers, interior designers, architects and salespeople.
“By promoting young builders who have done extraordinary things, it means the industry can promote apprenticeships, upskilling youngsters who are coming out of school to strive for something,” Mr Kershaw said.
He said the success of Mondo Homes, which is a custom home builder that had 16 starts last year, was partly due to his willingness to adapt existing building methodologies with changing trends.
“It’s a fine line though,” Mr Kershaw said.
“For instance, while some builders are switching to construction of modular homes, we have stuck with the tried and tested double brick or timber-framed construction methods that have been around for more than 100 years.
“I’m not 100 per cent sold on modular construction just yet, even though I’ve spoken to a lot of people about the process.”
But Mr Kershaw said he would continue to evaluate new construction methods and technology as it was developed.
He said most of his clients were aged between 30 and 60 and relied on the builder to be aware of innovations like data, wifi, smart wiring and NBN compliance.
“And given the average tradesperson is now aged around 57, they are not so likely to be thinking about those kinds of innovations,” Mr Kershaw said.
“Clients are more likely to be focusing on furnishings and what colours the walls are going to be, how the living spaces are going to work and how the house will function.
“A lot of the time we’ll just sort out the technology in the background, creating an environment for the house to work properly.”