This month, we’re spotlighting one of the first businesses who have tested the Plumbing Industry Maturity Model (PIMM), McCarthy Plumbing Group.
A family business, built the way a lot of businesses are in this industry.
David and Cat McCarthy run a tight crew of 20 plumbers out of Melbourne’s western suburbs. Like a lot of businesses in this industry, it’s a family affair. David and Cat work alongside their team every day and many of their team have been with them for the better part of a decade.
From reservations to genuine engagement
Cat’s first real look at Building Futures, Breaking Barriers came at the BFBB Summit, where she sat on a panel (see image). She’s happy to admit she went in with a few reservations.
“I had concerns at the start, to be honest. I hadn’t seen it, heard about it, or had any involvement before that. It was Ashleigh Dalmau, from Master Plumbers Victoria, who pulled us in.”
Those concerns didn’t last long. Over two weeks in July, researchers from Constructing Equity spent time in the business, sitting in on manager meetings and morning pre-starts, and talking one-on-one with plumbers on the tools.
Cat briefed the team beforehand through the company’s internal newsletter and a toolbox talk, letting everyone know the researchers were there to understand how a business their size actually operates day to day.
Cat was surprised by her team’s response.
“I thought there’d be a few eye rolls from the plumbers going, ‘what is this?’ But they actually embraced it really well. All the ones who had chats with the researchers were like, ‘when do we get our results, when do we get our feedback?’ It was better than I thought it would be.”
Small shifts, already sticking
They don’t have a female plumber on the tools today, but Cat and David are genuinely keen to change that.
“We have a son and a daughter, and we’d love it one day for people to ask our daughter if she’s going to work for her dad, instead of just asking our son, like it is at the moment.”
Two weeks won’t rewrite a workplace culture built over years, but it got people talking, and some of the smaller shifts have already stuck.
The team has started swapping “the boys” and “the girls” for “the team,” and a conversation with the researchers about physical strength turned into a simple, practical point: lifting is a safety issue for everyone on site, regardless of gender.
Doing it because they want to, not because they have to
For Cat, the motivation behind getting involved matters as much as the process itself. McCarthy Plumbing Group put its hand up because the team genuinely wanted to build a workplace where everyone, from apprentices through to senior staff, feels welcome. Cat sees that as a defining feature of small and medium businesses across the industry, many of whom are already doing this work quietly, without a contract requirement pushing them to.
“We’re doing this because we want to,” she said.
For Cat, the pilot reinforced something she already believed: a business that treats its people well is a stronger business. She’d like to see the day when being known as a genuinely good employer is just what’s expected across the industry, rather than something that sets one business apart from the rest.
For parents and future apprentices, that kind of reputation would be a clear signal of a workplace that’s safe, supportive and set up for the long term.
End.
There is a place for everyone in this industry. Let’s build it together.
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