Norm Wales started carpentry at 14 through a school apprenticeship and built his way up to founding Norm Wales Constructions in Bundaberg, Australia. He credits hands-on learning and mentorship for moving from apprentice to licensed builder to business owner.
Questions this video answers
November 30, 2025.
Will Blunt.
Norm Wales — Norm Wales Constructions, Bundaberg, Australia.
Around 14–15 years old.
He completed year 11 and year 12.
Chapters
You know, and if you're still enjoying what you do and you're delivering what you say you're going to deliver there, you know, that's the most important thing.
Welcome to Professional Builders Secrets, the podcast for building company owners wanting to grow safely and securely. I'm your host, Will Blunt and today I'm joined by Norm Wales from Norm Wales Constructions in Bundaberg, Australia. Norm, welcome to the show.
Well, thanks for having us, mate. Good to be here.
Very excited to have you on today. You've been around the APB traps for, for quite a while now. So super excited to, to unpack your journey so far and appreciate you coming on.
Yes, mate, no, we've been part of the APB for a little while now and it's definitely been a great journey.
Yeah, awesome. So obviously APB is one side of things, but why don't you tell me more about how it all started.
Look, I guess for nwc, like we specialize in full customers on new homes, but you know, the journey, you know, to lead us to this point that I guess there, I guess if you look back when I was a lot younger, I was always very hands on and I guess eager to be in the outdoors and explore and I guess create things. I guess, you know, as a young fella you've gone before, build tree houses and you know, explore the outdoors. So you're quite busy with your hands and I guess that's where carpentry probably naturally found me, you know. You know, being one that used to like making and building things and when I sort of were in high school there, I was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to try that and I got a school based apprenticeship. So as a pretty early age, you know, might have been 15, you know, I got given this opportunity that led into what I have to this day. You know, I was lucky enough that I was able to finish school, you know, so I still completed year 11, year 12. I, you know, then continued on, you know, leaving school. I knew what I was going to do because I had that school based apprenticeship there. So that was something very really, you know, fortunate to sort of have that. Not many people get that experience in that opportunity, I guess. But once I completed my, my trade there, I then started obviously studying for my builder's number. And when I had that opportunity of, you know, working with, you know, great, I guess mentors myself as a young apprentice, they help guide you through, you know, the things that look for and what to do. And shortly after me finishing my apprenticeship there, as I said, I studied the Azure builders courses and things. And there's only a couple of years later that I actually then got my number, which then I started Normals Construction. So, you know, it's been a stepping stone since then, but it's been, you know, definitely very rewarding for us.
So you got your builder number, like at a very young age. How old were you when you, when you first started?
Look, I would have gotten involved in the industry around 14, 15, so I obviously dummy apprenticeship and once I, I started studying there for my builder's license and then a couple of years after the study, I actually started Normal.
