Michelle completed her secondary education at Menzies College before completing a Diploma in Sport and Recreation. Unable to secure an appropriate position she spent some time working in Australia before returning to New Zealand.

While working in a number of short term, fill in positions Michelle attended the Southland Careers Expo. After discussing at length career opportunities in the automotive industry she elected to enrol in the National Certificate for Entry into Automotive Trades at the Southern Institute of Technology. A good grounding in Sixth Form English, maths, physics, chemistry and biology provided Michelle with the necessary academic background to do well on the pre apprenticeship course. Having a full driver’s licence, along with a heavy traffic and forklift licence were an advantage.

Michelle worked hard and was consistently in the top 10% of her class. Her work experience with Knowles and Sons led to the offer of a position with them. Knowles and Sons has since merged with AJ Auto Electrical where Michelle completed her apprenticeship in Automotive Electrical Engineering.