“I think the generation we’re creating is soft and they don’t want to work hard anymore,” he said.

Wagga has been gripped by a shortage in apprentice bricklayers for around five years, according to Mr Bennett.

He’s got three employees who came through as apprentices but laments that quality youngsters appear few and far between in the trade.

“I had a young fella turn up last week for a trial to see if he likes bricklaying … he left at 12, he was physically exhausted,” Mr Bennett said.

“We didn’t make him do anything hard, he just couldn’t do it.”

While bricklaying may be a real struggle for many new apprentices, Mr Bennett is adamant the trade “isn’t that hard once your body gets used to it”.

Apprentice bricklayers in the city have to travel to Albury to complete their Certificate III studies with the course not available at TAFE Riverina Institute’s Wagga campus.

As one of only two pathways to gaining a builders licence – alongside carpentry – bricklaying should be an attractive proposition for kids looking to get into the industry, Mr Bennett said.

The shortage of bricklayers coming through is making it hard for builders to find contractors for their projects, with some having to turn to interstate and foreign workers.

GJ Gardner Homes Wagga owner Chris Moscher is one such builder feeling the pinch.

“Our focus is always on using local trades where we can, but in order to maintain satisfactory build times, we have had to hire workers and contract tradies from other states like Queensland, as well as foreign tradesmen who are here on working visas, to get the job finished,” he said.