Zac Buchanan

How did you get into plastering? “I was in my last year of school when Steve, who is now my boss, put a notice up at school looking for somebody who wanted to do some plastering work with him. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school, and plastering sounded great.”

What do you find most enjoyable and most challenging about your work? “The most challenging thing is putting up the cladding and polystyrene on a house. You’ve got to get it perfect so the house comes out good. It requires a lot of time and patience. The thing I enjoy most is probably the final result, seeing it all come together. There are lots of different finishes so each house looks different.”

What’s one highlight from your career so far? “Winning the apprentice of the year competition was pretty cool. It just showed that I knew what I was doing.”

What advice would you give someone interested in becoming a plasterer? “It’s a physical job, so be prepared for a lot of hard work. But at the end of the day it pays off once you see the end result.”