Help technically skilled people become steady, confident leaders of people.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
This program is designed for commercial and residential building and construction leaders.
This includes:
- Foremen and leading hands
- First-time supervisors and emerging leaders
- Site supervisors and superintendents
- Senior tradespeople responsible for others
- Leaders supporting apprentices or less experienced workers
Keystone approved
Eligible building and construction businesses may be able to access up to 80% funding support.
Program structure
- 4 full-day workshops
- delivered one per month
- in-person across Tasmania
- cohort size: 8–20 participants
“It’s been the most rewarding and challenging training I’ve done, it has the potential to change the culture,
Keep it up — I wish I had done this course 10 years ago."
— Kent,
Team Leader, VOS Group
WHY UPSKILL?
In building and construction, retention is shaped by the day-to-day experience of work on site.
That experience is heavily influenced by frontline leadership.
Most businesses already invest in technical capability. What is often missing is support for supervisors and site leaders to lead people well under pressure.
When that gap remains, common issues show up:
- unclear communication
- poor follow-through
- reactive leadership
- conflict that lingers or escalates
- overfunctioning and burnout
- inconsistent standards across the team
This program helps close that gap.
“What I’ve learned is that retention is not HR its how people experience my leadership. Every person is human before they are useful and when we forget that, things spiral.”
— Harry, Site Supervisor
Tasbuilt
What the program covers
Upskilling Leaders develops leadership from the inside out.
The program follows a simple developmental arc: Wake Up. Grow Up. Show Up.
Participants first become more aware of how they lead and react under pressure, then build the capacity to work differently with people, and finally put that into practice in the everyday work of leading a team.
1. Wake Up
See yourself, your patterns and your impact more clearly.
Leadership starts with awareness.
Participants learn to recognise their own patterns under pressure, understand what drives their behaviour, and notice the impact they have on the people around them.
They build greater steadiness, self-awareness and choice — so they can respond with clarity rather than simply react.
Includes:
- iEQ9 Enneagram Report + 1:1 Debrief
- Understanding pressure and reactive patterns
- Managing attention, energy and behaviour
- Using authority well
- Moving from reactive to intentional leadership
2. Grow Up
Build the capacity to lead different people and harder conversations.
Knowing yourself is only the beginning.
Participants develop the practical interpersonal skills needed to move from being the person who gets the work done to someone who can grow the capability of others.
They learn to communicate clearly, delegate with confidence, give useful feedback, coach rather than rescue, and address issues before they become bigger problems.
Includes:
- Everything DiSC Workplace Profile
- Communication and leadership styles
- Delegation and accountability
- Feedback and difficult conversations
- Coaching skills
- Adult-to-Adult communication
- Adapting leadership to the person and situation
3. Show Up
Turn leadership into everyday practice.
Leadership has to show up in the way work actually gets done.
Participants bring the learning back into their teams — setting clearer expectations, strengthening follow-through, building trust and creating practical rhythms that help people perform at their best.
The focus shifts from individual leadership skills to creating the conditions for stronger teams, better standards and a healthier workplace culture.
Includes:
- Practical team leadership rhythms
- One-to-one conversations
- Clear expectations and follow-through
- Building accountability without unnecessary drama
- Strengthening team trust and performance
- LEAN systems training
- A practical leadership plan for continuing the work beyond the program
Better Conversations Every Day
Optional Bolt on
Peer-support lab designed to help participants embed the learning into everyday workflow and build a stronger coaching culture across the business.
This 8-hour add-on supports shared language, earlier repair, better psychosocial safety, and ongoing practical accountability after the workshops end.
“I have far better communication with both my current direct reports… feel more confident they understand what I want from them, and in turn they can ask me things without feeling I don’t understand them."
— Matt, Supervisor
VOS Group
WHAT'S REQUIRED?
Participants
- Attendance at 4 full-day workshops
- Participation in 2 short support touchpoints (online or in-person)
- Willingness to apply the learning between sessions
Organisations
- Support participants to attend fully
- Reinforce follow-through between workshops
- Back practical leadership growth, not just course attendance
This approach helps the learning last beyond the workshop room.
What this changes on site
Participants leave better able to:
-
Set expectations clearly
-
Communicate with confidence and less reactivity
-
Hold standards with respect
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Delegate without micromanaging
-
Address issues earlier
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Improve handovers, meetings, and follow-through
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Build trust, accountability, and steadiness in the team
About Ben Pangas
Ben brings the pragmatism and industry experience of a tradesman, the empathy of an accredited counsellor, and the rigour of a master’s-trained coach.
With more than 20 years of experience helping individuals and teams grow, he supports leaders with real responsibility for people, culture, and performance.
Ben’s work helps leaders move beyond technical competence and grow the capacity to lead people well under pressure. Combining practical leadership development, coaching, and reflective practice, he helps leaders strengthen clarity, communication, accountability, and relational maturity in the moments that matter most.
He has worked across construction and other people-intensive sectors, and is known for creating grounded, honest spaces where leaders can engage the real challenges of leadership and turn insight into practical change.
Register Your Interest in the Keystone-Approved Upskilling Leaders Program
Outcomes in Real Organisations
Case-studies of what organisations have gained when leadership formation becomes part of how they grow leaders.
Mining
Six-month developmental leadership program (multi-cohort)
- Majority rated the program 9–10/10 overall (2025 evaluation).
- 100% rated 1:1 coaching as Excellent.
- Reported impact: stronger self-awareness under pressure, more constructive conflict, improved wellbeing and relationships.
Yard Leadership
Six-month program for current & emerging yard leaders
- Cohort average across eight outcomes: 3.94/5.
- Confidence as a leader of people: 2.5 → 4.0 (+1.5 uplift).
- Strongest gains (avg 4.25/5): responsibility without blame, understanding stress patterns, performance conversations.
Statewide Leadership Team
Six-month Upskilling Leaders (workshops + 1:1 coaching)
- ~90% rated the workshops very relevant/very clear/very good (or higher)
- ~90% said coaching improved leadership capacity and wellbeing.
- Reported shifts: calmer responses under pressure, clearer feedback, better conflict conversations, stronger delegation.