No Joshing around for this model employee

Humble in victory, Josh is still in disbelief it was his name the judges read out at Rich River Golf Club on Wednesday night, refusing to take the plaudits for his achievements and crediting his win to the team at O’Brien Plumbing.

“It was a bit of a shock,” he said.

“I definitely didn’t think I was going to win when I saw who I was going up against.

“It was the first time I’d been to one of those events, it was pretty surreal.”

Originally from the Mornington Peninsula, Josh has been with O’Brien for seven years, sticking with the company throughout his apprenticeship and the transition into full-time work.

“(Plumbing) was always something I wanted to do,” Josh said.

“I tried a few different trades and plumbing was definitely the one I liked the most, so I stuck with it.

“I love the feeling of helping people, especially with the gas side of things.

“It’s very rewarding, when they call on you to be there and get something they need urgently back running and it’s a pretty good feeling when you can help them and see their satisfaction and how appreciative they are.”

Josh said the early starts and physically challenging parts of the job were made all the more easy by the team around him.

He said it was “an awesome place” to work, with an employee culture so strong it’d remained unchanged after Josh’s first bosses left.

“It’s such a family,” he said.

“We all do things together outside of work and we’re all friends too which is probably the biggest thing.”

Those friendships mean picking up each other’s slack is second nature for the O’Brien employees.

For Josh every day at work is about being the best person he can be for his colleagues and clients.

“A good employee is someone who helps you out as a team, working together to make everyone else’s life easier.

“I feel like that’s what I can contribute to the most.

“If I can help make the boys’ days as easy as they possibly can be and make everyone happy, I’m happy.”