Work experience
Carpenter | Dome Building Projects
August 2021 - Current
-Worked on over 10 sites, ranging from $1m - $8m.
-Spent six months in a workshop environment which was a unique mix of carpentry, joinery and woodworking. Became well-versed in workshop machinery including a panel saw, bandsaw, thicknesser and jointer as well as a drum sander.
-Honed my precision skills, often working to 0.2mm - 0.5mm tolerances.
-Part of a two man team which made and installed a highly complex cedar feature ceiling for BE.Architecture at Shakespeare Grove, Hawthorn. The ceiling had a lot of intricate details, including a mixture of cedar veneer panels and solid cedar straps, panels angled off the ceiling to create different reveals and panels where the widths reached close to 2.8m wide with specific grain directions and angles. I took the lead on meticulously planning, calculating, and breaking down the architectural plans into the individual pieces, using trigonometry extensively as well as doing the site set out to ensure the potential for unsightly gaps were eliminated as it was to be a caulk free install.
-Created samples for architects, often workshopping ideas with a construction manager to come up with “how” to build and execute complex and challenging details.
-Established a reputation as “Jig Lord”, creating complex router jigs to create precise, repeatable and efficient cuts/shapes into timber. In one instance, I made a dovetail jig for American Oak skirting boards that was able to route out the two opposing pieces in five minutes, where as the previous hand cut technique would have taken over 40 minutes. This brought down an estimated one week/two man job to a two day/one man job to create close to 50 dovetail joins. Another jig I made was used to route out five $2000 doors to house a Fritsjurgen pivot hinge with only 3mm of the door “skin” left on either side of the hardware.
-Specialised in architectural door hardware installation which included routing out complex concealed hinges, mortice locks and pivot hinges. I was also privately engaged by Bowens to install an AGB/Formani hardware display pod which included over 50 different types of handles and 40 mortice locks.
Apprentice Carpenter | Reed Built
November 2019 - July 2021
-Contributed towards eight large extensions/renovations, including six from start-to-finish.
-Heavily involved in all aspects of the build process including setting out, excavating, laying steel reinforcement, pouring concrete foundations and slabs, setting stumps, framing, lock up and fix as well as defect rectification.
-Tasked countless times with running smaller jobs on my own, including instances where I was leading a first-year apprentice.
-Studied architectural plans in conjunction with engineering drawings and soil reports for the last five projects, and have completed partial and complete take-offs. My last take-off was for a complete build in Caulfield South, including all the key components for the slab/subfloor, framing, and lock up. My estimates were accurate, with an estimated 44m3 of concrete and the actual order being 43m3. I estimated 18 sheets of SL82 mesh (259m2) with our total wastage at approximately 2m2 and my estimated quantities for our strip footings which required 35 lengths of 3-L12TM and 6 lengths of 4-L10TM had zero wastage.
-In one instance of studying the plans, I was able to suggest a resolution to an issue identified on-site where the true boundary line did not reflect the actual layout of the house we were working on. The back of the house actually crept into the neighbouring property, and the proposed extension was a further eight meters with a design that included a firewall that sat tight to the boundary line. The back of the property (which was approximately seventeen meters past the existing house, was actually 200mm over the true boundary line into the neighbouring property. Rather than shifting the entire extension 200mm away from the boundary, I used basic trigonometry to suggest we could claw back around 100mm if we just worked out how far we could push just the extension (at just under half the distance to the back of the property) towards the boundary line. The result was clawing back 98mm of the potential “loss” of space.
Apprentice Carpenter | Reed Builders
September 2019 - November 2019
-Part of the team that built the Lexus Marquee for the 2019 Melbourne Cup
Sales Manager and Store Manager | Giant South Yarra
July 2011 - April 2019
-Working alongside the business owner in every facet of the business from sales forecasting, stock procurement, inventory management and day to day operations
-Forging relationships with schools and clubs, including submitting tenders resulting in a long term relationship with some of Melbourne’s leading private schools in the heart of Toorak and bayside based triathlon squads
-Developing and implementing strategies to increase sales through sponsorships and product placement
-Handling all the administrative duties including ordering, receiving, pricing and liaising with suppliers
-Managing a team of five which included scheduling and overseeing workflows for the sales and service team
-Handling customer complaints and disputes, ensuring a positive outcome for both the customer and the business owner
-Providing seamless support and service to a varied client base that included corporate customers, high net worth individuals and charity organisations
-Handling complex sales transactions including sales to overseas customers, payments utilising finance options and transactions that included financing on sales and discounted items which would have otherwise been ineligible for finance (This was achieved by creating a new system that streamlined the calculations of deposits and repayment amounts, whilst ensuring the business was not exposed to additional costs or risks. This resulted in a 300% increase in financed sales)
Entrepreneurial experience
Co-Founder | Duck Luck
(2016 - 2019)
Duck Luck creates and supplies premium quality Vietnamese coffee to over eight cafes around Victoria and Tasmania. As Co-Founder, I was responsible for the branding, website content and management, product sourcing, partnerships, and business development opportunities.
Founder | Bicycle Emporium
(2012 - 2019)
I created Bicycle Emporium, which helped facilitate the transaction of second-hand bikes with the goal of achieving the highest possible resale value and offering customers a streamlined service. Since its inception, I’ve handled over $250,000 worth of products.
Founder | Press Supply Co.
(2012-2016)
I started Press Supply Co. after seeing an opportunity in the market to source and supply custom-made cycling musette bags and bamboo fibre cycling socks to businesses, local bike shops as well as local cycling groups. Previous customers include Deloitte, REA Group, Giant Bikes Australia, and Hurford Hardwood.
Website design experience
Reed Built
Duck Luck
Personal Resume
www.kennethlim.co
Education
Diploma of Building and Construction
2022 -
Diploma of Project Management
2022 -
Certificate III in Carpentry
2019 - 2022
Certificate IV in Building and Construction
2020
Bachelor of Interior Architecture (deferred)
2008 - 2009
Monash University
Victorian Certificate of Education
2007
Box Hill High School
Languages
English (native)
Mandarin (basic)
Hokkien (basic)
Interests and hobbies
Cycling
Running
Triathlon
Mixed Martial Arts
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Photography
Personal achievements
Recipient of a Career Advancement Scholarship through Master Builders Victoria in 2022
Competed in a mixed martial arts fight in 2018 (and won! currently undefeated at 1-0)
Completed the Melbourne Marathon in 2015
Completed the Melbourne Ironman in 2014
References
Craig Jansen
Owner of Giant South Yarra
0412 255 249
Greg Doriean
Work-based delivery teacher for Certificate III in Carpentry
(available upon request)
