After completing his secondary education at Menzies College Matthew was accepted onto the Level 2 National Certificate in General Engineering pre apprenticeship course at the Southern Institute of Technology in mid 2002. Matthew was then offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training and seconded initially to Donald Engineering, and then to Alliance Group Mataura.

The practical elements of Matthew’s qualification are taught on the job and through annual three weekly block courses at S.I.T. The theory elements are taught through weekly evening classes. Once Matthew has completed the theory assessment for a unit standard he is then able to be assessed in the practical elements, providing that he is able to prove that he is competent in the various tasks. To achieve practical competency Matthew has to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices. Achieving the required level of competency takes time and requires the apprentice to be well versed in each task he is being assessed on.