Glamour and Grit in TV hunt for NZ's Top Tradie

NZ Idol meets Dream Home as the hunt begins for New Zealand’s top tradie.

As the glamour of television meets the grittiness of construction, Jack of All Trades is out to find the country’s best all-round tradie .

The winner of the seven-part television competition will take home a brand new Ford Ranger ute stacked full of all the gear a bloke could ever want. As well as gaining national fame, bragging rights down at the pub, and the title of New Zealand’s best Jack of All Trades.

Tradies up for the challenge of pitting their skills against the country’s best can now register through www.nzjackofalltrades.com for the first round.

Judges will interview the top 20 entrants in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in early June, and select New Zealands top 12 contestants. The next stage sees the 12 go head to head in the “Ford Qualifying Event” at the Field Days in Hamilton on Saturday June 14. The qualifying event is a live audition on the tools, where contests must compete for a spot in the TV show though a series of short, sharp, skills tests. The top four from this event will star in the TV series, which is set to screen on TV ONE starting 4pm Saturday September 6th.

Competition Organiser Damien Bray promises the qualifying events will be “great family entertainment” that will also give contestants the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of construction.

“The time trials will test every aspect of the tradies’ skills,” says Bray. “They’ll have to show they are quick, competent and accurate at carpentry, painting, plumbing, brick laying, handling a chain saw and tiling.

“And it’s not all about who finishes first, it’s who finishes quickly and does the best job at the same time.”

Judges will then present four finalists with the ultimate tradie challenge: build a holiday cabin from start to finish in just seven days – and do it all on television.

“These top four tradies will all be skilled – but we want to find out who’s really the best,” says Bray. “They’ll have a labourer to help them, but every aspect of their work will be under intense scrutiny from not just the judges, but also the television audience.

“They’ll earn points for quality and accuracy of workmanship, adherence to safety requirements, speed, organisational skills, creativity and innovation in construction – so it’s not just a race, it’s a real competition.

“And our judges will be ruthless. You can expect them to find every fault and take no prisoners.”

Jack of All Trades will showcase the skill and talent that exists in New Zealand’s building industry, says Bray.

“As the construction market tightens, the tradies who succeed in this new environment will be those who are highly skilled across several trades, are innovative, creative, have great customer service skills and for whom construction is not just a job – it’s a passion!”

“And you can guarantee that that description will fit the ultimate winner of Jack of All Trades.”

To register to compete in this years Jack of All Trades, tradies should enter their details at www.nzjackofalltrades.com  before June 1.