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    TAFE NSW Wollongong | 20 April 2026

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    Leading Illawarra builder urges parents to back trades careers

    The truth is, not everyone can be a scholar and when you look around, many of the locals driving big cars and towing big boats are actually tradies
    Ken Tugrul, Illawarra builder

    A leading Illawarra builder has urged parents to step up and play a role in helping address a worsening local trades skills shortage by encouraging their children to pursue a career “on the tools”.
    Ken Tugrul, the managing director of tier two Illawarra construction company TDK Corporation, said many parents were under the illusion that university was the only path to a rewarding career, despite data showing tradies earned higher wages than uni graduates by their mid-20s, had better job satisfaction and enjoyed higher employment prospects.
    Mr Tugrul, who attended as a bricklayer in the mid-1980s, said a lingering stigma around trades meant many parents were blind to the opportunities available.

    Illawarra builder, Ken Tugrul, from TDK Corporation stands in front of a newly laid grey brick wall. He wears a white hard hat and an orange hi-vis safety vest. Ken is smiling directly at the camera. His grey hair is visible on either side of his hard hat.

    “I’m not sure if it’s ego or snobbery, but some parents just seem to think their kids can’t be successful unless they go to university,” Mr Tugrul said. “The truth is, not everyone can be a scholar and when you look around, many of the locals driving big cars and towing big boats are actually tradies.”
    “Parents need to sit back and really think about whether learning a trade at TAFE NSW would be a better option for their child. There’s such a shortage of tradies out there and it’s getting worse.”
    Mr Tugrul, who sends his bricklaying apprentices exclusively to TAFE NSW Wollongong, said a trade qualification was a passport to a long and rewarding career. “TAFE NSW just does it better; they have the facilities and they have the teachers with real industry experience,” he said.
    “As a bricklayer, you leave a physical legacy, and I can drive around Wollongong with my grandson and show him the things that I’ve built. It’s such a meaningful career and yet we are so desperate for apprentices, if a young person walked into my office today, I’d give them a start straight away.”
    TAFE NSW Wollongong bricklaying teacher Mick Mattesius, who does regular school career talks with Mr Tugrul to highlight bricklaying careers, said there was never a better time to join the trade.
    “Older bricklayers are ready for retirement after serving a prosperous career in industry and are looking to get out of the industry,” he said. “We’re in the middle of a construction boom and we need this new generation of bricklayers to come through to keep the construction industry going.
    “It’s a wonderful trade and there are so many opportunities for a rewarding career.”

    Media contact: Dan Johns, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, 02 7920 5000.

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