Cody constructs his own career with QBuild and TAFE Queensland

Now, as a second-year apprentice with QBuild, Cody studies his trade through block training, and his appreciation for the teachers, and tools available, continues.

“I’m not the first in my family to go to TAFE Queensland – my brother studied mechanics at Ipswich, where I study,” Cody began.

“TAFE Queensland Ipswich is convenient – I live in Goodna, so it’s only 15 minutes’ drive away.  Plus QBuild, my employer, partners with TAFE Queensland for training – so I was happy with that too.”

“My training involves attending one-week intensive blocks, and I come to campus for these blocks a number of times each year,” Cody explained.

Cody is currently based at a QBuild site at Eagle Farm, but his apprenticeship takes him to work all over the state.

QBuild, the Queensland Government’s official building and maintenance provider, plays a vital role in delivering and sustaining public infrastructure across the state. From planning and construction to ongoing maintenance and emergency response, QBuild provides a wide range of professional and technical services that support essential government operations.

Its workforce is responsible for maintaining and building key facilities such as TAFE Queensland campuses, state schools, social housing, police stations, correctional centres, and healthcare facilities, ensuring these critical assets remain safe, functional, and fit for purpose.

“For work, I have been to multiple TAFE Queensland campuses from here in Ipswich to Townsville, and they have been really good facilities to work at,” Cody said of TAFE Queensland’s campuses.

“And at TAFE Queensland Ipswich, we have a lot of good tools here — a lot of top-of-the-range Milwaukee gear which is brand-new.”

“They’ve also got a lot of the classic tools too — so it’s really nice to learn some of the classic ways to do certain carpentry,” he shared.

Cody believes that the hands-on variety and practical skills he’s gained so far have been the highlight of his training.

“I've liked the variety of my course — learning how to build simple scaffolds to even framing a house, and then doing form base and leveling outside,” he said.

“Also, in the theory component there's a lot of math to carpentry. So, if there were certain formulas that I had any trouble with, I’d always ask teachers, and they’d always explain things and help us out,” Cody shared.

QBuild also sees Cody work on recovery relief and modular housing across the state, giving him practical exposure to transporting and building homes from the ground up, as well as a comprehensive understanding of grading timbers.

“When I graduate, I would love to go on and be a builder — learn the ‘ins and outs’ of the trade and also the ‘ins and outs’ of a construction site,” said Cody.

Cody also shared that he’s into going to the gym with a focus on health and fitness, so it was no surprise that when asked what ‘greatness’ meant to him, he referenced Jonathan Thurston as a role model.

Cody followed that up with; “I'd say ‘greatness’ to me would be to just stick with it and do the work and get your apprenticeship completed as fast as you can, if you really put your head down and study.”

With his mum dedicated to raising the family and his dad expressing culture and sharing stories through Indigenous art, Cody’s career path might not be a ‘chip off the old block’  —but as a qualified ‘chippy’ trained by TAFE Queensland, he’s building his own future. And with his skills and dedication, his clients can feel truly ‘safe as houses’.