Having completed his secondary schooling at Verdon College Mark successfully applied to undertake the electrical pre apprenticeship course at the Southern Institute of Technology. In 2004 he was offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training and is currently on placement with his second host company, Munro Electrical.

To complete the Level 4 National Certificate in Electrical Engineering Mark must complete a range of unit standards comprising both theory and practical elements. Mark’s off job theory training has been provided by S.I.T through his attendance at evening class and through a two week block course each year.

As a Modern Apprentice Mark has his own Modern Apprenticeship Coordinator who has developed an individual training plan for him which sets realistic goals and timeframes to achieve them in. The Coordinator, Karen Hogh, meets with Mark on a regular basis and is available as a mentor to both Mark and his supervisor.

Mark needs to maintain a weekly record of all the tasks he completes in a Record of Work folder which is required to be signed off by his supervisor once the supervisor agrees that Mark has achieved the required competency level. Failure to maintain good records can add considerably to the length of time it takes to complete an apprenticeship.