After completing his secondary education at James Hargest College, Kenny undertook the carpentry pre apprenticeship course at the Southern Institute of Technology, winning a prize for most improved student. The successful completion of the course meant that Kenny had completed the theory requirements for his Level 4 National Certificate in Carpentry and could concentrate on achieving competency in the practical elements of the various unit standards.

To achieve practical competency Kenny had to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices. Kenny needed to maintain a weekly record of all the tasks he completed in a Record of Work folder which was required to be signed off by his supervisor once the supervisor agreed that Kenny had achieved the required competency level. Failure to maintain good records can add considerably to the length of time it takes to complete an apprenticeship.

As the Modern Apprentice Coordinator for the Southland region Southern Group Training assisted Kenny in securing employment with Donaldson Construction Services. Kenny is allocated his own Modern Apprenticeship Coordinator who has developed an individual training plan for him which set realistic goals and timeframes to achieve them in.