From apprentice to award-winning bricklayer and business owner, Lester Tibbles has built a reputation brick by brick – quite literally. Based in the Southern Highlands and Canberra, Lester leads Tibbles Bricklaying with a focus on quality craftsmanship, professionalism, and mentoring the next generation of tradespeople. With a WorldSkills Gold and Bronze under his belt, and a thriving business to his name, Lester’s story is one of grit, growth, and genuine passion for the trade. In this edition of Talking Trades, we dive into how he got started, the values that drive his business, and what’s next for one of the country’s standout bricklayers.
1. Let’s start from the beginning – how did you first get into bricklaying? Was it something you always wanted to do, or did you fall into it by chance?
Definitely by chance, I was pretty desperate to leave school but wasn’t able to leave until I had an apprenticeship. I whipped out the old yellow pages phone book and called every builder in my country town and asked for an apprenticeship. They didn’t have anything available. By accident, I called a bricklayer who had a brickies labourer job going at the time. It was just meant to be a temporary stint in bricklaying but that was 20 years ago now.
2. What is it about bricklaying that made you stick with it and turn it into a full-time career and business? What do you enjoy most about the trade?
When I was younger I really enjoyed the satisfaction of physical work and being in the outdoors every day. There is also a camaraderie and mateship that comes with bricklaying that’s hard to explain. Bricklaying is done as a team or crew, a ‘team trade’ you might call it and I’ve always really enjoyed that aspect of it. The people you work with quickly become good mates.
From a business perspective a career in bricklaying has provided me an opportunity to be my own boss, run my own business, have some flexibility with my young family and set the standards I want to work by.
3. You’ve represented Australia on the world stage—winning Bronze at WorldSkills London 2011 and Gold at National WorldSkills in Brisbane 2010. How did those competitions shape your approach to bricklaying, and what lessons from those experiences do you still apply today?
It was definitely an eye opener for me, I was just a young kid from a small country town in Australia. My wife still jokes about me rocking up to the International Competition in London in my footy shorts with a trowel, tape and a level and the European competitors beside me having workwear clothing sponsors, several, huge toolboxes full of every bricklaying tool imaginable and really looking the part. This was a really big lesson in the quality of my workmanship standing out above all else.
I travelled to Denmark & France for training in the lead up to the International Competition in London. I was interested in the diversity in brick sizes, materials and tools used across different countries. Adapting quickly to these variations taught me to think on my feet and adjust to any site conditions. I still vividly recall the South Korean competitor who used a tool resembling a dessert spoon to lay bricks.
Competing in national and international WorldSkills competitions profoundly shaped my approach to bricklaying. These experiences not only honed my technical skills but also deepened my appreciation for precision, efficiency and the global standards that define our trade.
The international competition in London tested me beyond technical skills. Just days before the event, I received the news of my father’s unexpected passing back in Australia. While my initial instinct was to return home immediately, I ultimately decided to stay in London and compete in his memory. The physical, mental and emotional challenges during those days were intense but they taught me resilience and the ability to overcome adversity.
4. Apprenticeship and mentorship seem central to your philosophy—you mentor new apprentices each year. What qualities do you look for in an apprentice, and how do you cultivate those
through your program?
My wife and I have a little motto when it comes to apprentices… “hire character, train skill”. We don’t care where you come from, what your background is or who you are but if you have a great work ethic, a good attitude and are honest, we’ll teach you the rest.
Being a family owned and operated business, our apprentices & employees quickly become like family. This rapport and relationship building becomes a support network that assists our young apprentices throughout the life of their apprenticeship and beyond.
Anything we can do to help our apprentices, we do it. Bricklaying is a physically demanding job, sometimes in harsh conditions and my expectations for quality are high so we try and offset this with lots of financial and social support.
Firstly, we pay all of our employees above award, we assist our apprentices in acquiring scholarships that assist with the financial burden of being an apprentice in regional Australia. To date we’ve had 2 of our apprentices win the coveted Bert Evans Scholarship and another 2 of our apprentices proudly supported with scholarships from our local CEF Foundation. I remember the financial burden of my apprenticeship, I think I only took home $220 as a first-year apprentice and I don’t want my young apprentices struggling like I did.
We engage in lots of fun social activities out of hours, sky diving, fishing trips, camping trips and city trips to maintain team morale and cohesion.
We have a generous bonus scheme to reward them for their hard work and efforts and celebrate milestones like anniversaries, finishing apprenticeships, birthdays etc. We go all out every Chrissy to show our employees that they are valued, appreciated and an asset to our team. They are only little things but sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference.
5. Your journey began by cold‑calling tradesmen and landed you a career in bricklaying. Looking back, what advice would you give to someone starting out with little to no connections in the industry?
Don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and have a chat. Most tradies are approachable and happy to help a young or enthusiastic person out by answering any questions. Ensure you are job ready by getting a general induction card or white card and some basic PPE.
There are industry bodies like Brick & Block Careers ‘become a bricklayer’ in every state that are full of information for anyone wanting to get into the industry. Brick & Block Careers have been a great source of support during my own apprenticeship and now my employee’s apprenticeships. TAFE NSW offer short courses in construction that give a great taster.
Be enthusiastic & be on time. Doesn’t matter what you do in life just do it well! Also, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and ask, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no!
6. You’ve earned awards like the Golden Trowel (block laying) and the Gun Trowel (fastest bricklayer). What drive or mindset helps you excel under competitive or high‑pressure conditions?
I have a competitive nature. I strive for excellence in everything I do and take pride in my work. Hard work makes for an easy life.
7. You’ve built everything from residential homes to retaining walls, and even public projects. Which project has been your most rewarding or challenging, and why?
My most rewarding project to date is the front gate at our farm. It’s no technical masterpiece or award-winning project but I built this with my two young sons Will & Charlie. They laid the bricks, mixed the mud, ate smoko with the crew and I could see a real sense of satisfaction in the kids when they finished.
The most challenging project would definitely be an internal airport project a few years back. Every tool had to be checked in and out of security each day. There’s a lot of sharp objects in our toolboxes which proved problematic. Each brick cut required a security escort down to a secure basement via a lift… and there were a lot of cuts… The hazardous classification on some of the materials we use in masonry also proved problematic for security and airport regulations. All in all, the project came up great through and its always a discussion point when we are travelling through that airport.
8. Education and training are pillars of your business. How do you stay updated on industry techniques, materials, or technology to ensure your team remains at the forefront?
I use education and training providers for my apprentices that I know and trust! My apprentices go to the same TAFE and have some of the same teachers ah I did. I value the training, education, values and opportunities that TAFE NSW provides to our apprentices.
We look after our principle contractors and they look after us in return. Lots of our updated training comes through initiatives of our principal contractors who are at the forefront of changes in the industry.
We have great relationships with suppliers, industry bodies, experts in the field and friends in the industry. These relationships assist us in keeping updated.
9. You once said, “Bricklaying provides a lot of self‑satisfaction … being able to drive around town and say ‘I built that’ is a great feeling.” Can you share a specific moment or completed project that made you feel particularly proud?
It’s my 20th year in the bricklaying industry this year. Earlier in my career it was probably the awards and accolades, being flag bearer for the Australian team on the world stage, staying in London to compete in the International Worldskills Competition when my Dad passed away and bringing home the bronze medal.
These days I get a lot more satisfaction out of the people side of the industry rather than the projects themselves. I’ve met a lot of great people over the years, some who are an imperative part of the Tibbles Bricklaying story. I recently caught up with my old Worldskills trainer Troy Everett from Wollongong for a beer, who has since gone on to become the Chief International Expert for Bricklaying. My old TAFE teacher Peter Moore in Bathurst has since retired but was recently helping me out with some technical calculations and helping me derive a plan for how to approach a particularly complex job. When I first started my business, Allworth Homes gave me an opportunity to build 1 single house for them, it was our very first job, 12 years and hundreds of houses later they are still a valued client of ours. Having these guys still in my corner all these years later, is pretty remarkable and really speaks to the mateship and camaraderie of bricklaying that I spoke about earlier.
Little things like working on bricklaying projects around our farm with my kids and seeing them enjoy the garden and home we built also brings an immense feeling of satisfaction.
10. Looking ahead, what are your goals for Tibbles Bricklaying in the next 5–10 years? Do you plan to expand geographically, diversify services, or bring new innovations to the trade?
In an industry where cowboys are all too common, I look forward to providing our clients with the same industry leading quality brick work our company has become renowned for.
Over the last 20 years in the bricklaying industry I’ve learnt that bigger isn’t always better. We’ve found a business model that works for us and allows us to maintain our high standard and personalised service that has quality at the heart of everything we do.
We’ve dabbled in building over the past few years and I’d love to expand on that in the future and come full circle to that building apprenticeship that I never did get haha.
Click here to find out more about Lester and his team.
0 Comments