Fairbrother was established in 1972 as a small, family-owned and operated business in Tasmania’s North-West, and has steadily grown to become a recognised leader in the building and construction industry. Wholly owned by the Fairbrother family and key management staff and employees, the company’s success in the Tasmanian market has enabled them to expand into regional Victoria and also to undertake selected projects nationally.

Fairbrother is committed to training, there is a company-wide understanding - from senior management down - that apprentice training is vital to the company’s continued success and development. Its success is borne out of almost five decades in the building and construction industry utilising its diverse and highly skilled workforce. Fairbrother hired its first apprentice in 1974. In 1996, the first female apprentice started and by 1998 the 100th apprentice was hired. By 2020 Fairbrother had trained 388 apprentices in carpentry and cabinet making.

Nine individual apprentices from Fairbrother have won the Tasmanian Master Builders Association Apprentice of the Year Award in the past 15 years. Five of them have gone on to win the National MBA Apprentice of the Year Award.

Each employee who began as an apprentice has progressed into different roles and responsibilities within Fairbrother or in the industry.