Adam Darragh – Apprentice Mechanical Engineer

Adam completed his secondary education at Gore High School before spending time in the New Zealand Navy. In early 2005 Adam was offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training and is currently on secondment with his second host company, Quality Sheetmetal.

While most apprentices spend their apprenticeship on placement with one host company Southern Group Training has the ability to place an apprentice with another host company if the original host has insufficient ongoing work, or is unable to provide training in all the unit standards required to enable the apprentice to complete his qualification.

Once Adam has completed the theory assessment for a unit standard he is then able to be assessed in the practical elements. To achieve practical competency Adam has to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices.

Adam's Training Manager is a qualified workplace assessor and is able to undertake regular workplace assessments of Adam's work. It is the apprentice's responsibility to be well prepared for the assessment of each unit standard.

Brad Shaw – Apprentice Carpenter

After completing his secondary education at Menzies College, Brad was employed as a Modern Apprentice with Hamish Broomfield Builder.

As a Modern Apprentice Brad 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 Brad on a regular basis and is available as a mentor to both Brad and his supervisor.

Brad continues to develop and improve his knowledge of carpentry each year through attending a series of block courses at the Southern Institute of Technology where he is taught the theory components of the Level 4 National Certificate in Carpentry.

To achieve practical competency Brad has to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices.

Brad 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 Brad 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.

Damion Goodall – Heavy Fabrication Engineer

After completing his secondary education at Menzies College Damion was accepted onto the Level 2 National Certificate in Fabrication Welding pre apprenticeship course at the Southern Institute of Technology in 2001. During this time he spent a day a week on work experience in an engineering workshop which provided Damion with additional practical work experience. Damion was offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training and placed on secondment with Donald Engineering.

The theory elements of Damion's Level 4 National Certificate are taught through weekly evening classes which are important to attend as without having passed the theory assessment the apprentice cannot be assessed in his practical skills. Once Damion had completed the theory assessment for a unit standard he was then able to be assessed in the practical elements, providing that he was able to prove that he was competent in the various tasks.

The practical elements of Damion's qualification are taught in the workshop and through site work and are supplemented through practical tasks taught at an annual three week block course at S.I.T.

Damion needed to maintain a regular record of all the tasks he completed as he collected and wrote up evidence of his competency for assessment. Failure to maintain good records can add considerably to the length of time it takes to complete an apprenticeship. Damion has now completed his apprenticeship and is employed as a fully qualified heavy fabrication engineer.

Daniel Webber – Apprentice Heavy Fabrication Engineer

After leaving Menzies College Daniel spent a year working in an engineering workshop which gave him a good insight as to what engineers actually do. He decided to pursue a career in engineering and applied to Southern Group Training for an apprenticeship, which placed him with Donald Engineering for his practical on job training.

The theory elements are taught through weekly evening classes at the Southern Institute of Technology. Once Daniel has completed the theory assessment for a unit standard he is then able to be assessed in the practical elements, provided that he is able to prove that he is competent in the various tasks.

To achieve practical competency he has to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices. This level of competency is gained through practical work experience on job and through a series of block courses.

Daniel's Training Manager is a registered workplace assessor and is available to assess Daniel's work when it is ready for assessment. Regular assessment is commended to ensure apprentices remain familiar with the assessment requirements.

David Toole – Light Automotive Engineering

Formerly a student of Menzies College, David decided that an apprenticeship was his preferred career path and then needed to decide on which trade he wished to train in.

There are a variety of trade qualifications available in most trades and in automotive the first decision David made was that light automotive engineering appealed to him more than heavy automotive engineering.

David successfully applied to Southern Group Training for an apprenticeship in light automotive engineering and has been seconded to Rodgers Garage in Wyndham for his on job practical training.

In the workplace David will gain valuable practical skills to back up the theory knowledge needed to complete the various unit standards required to complete his Level 4 National Certificate. The theory components are taught via distance learning which requires David to complete a set of theory workbooks, usually one every fortnight, if he is to make good steady progress towards the completion of his qualification.

Jade Latta -General Engineering

A former student of Menzies College, Jade enrolled in the July 2007 ACE Engineering programme which was held over 20, instead of the usual 38, weeks at the Southern Institute of Technology. The condensed pre apprenticeship programme allowed Jade to complete all the requirements of the programme in a shorter period of time, thus allowing him to begin his apprenticeship earlier than previously would have been the case.

Southern Group Training employed Jade as an Industry Trainee for the duration of the ACE programme and placed him in full time paid work experience with different companies for four, two week periods of time.

Jade was able to earn a basic wage, which was paid out to him over the duration of programme. All the ACE Trainees were required to complete a weekly timesheet regardless of whether they were on work experience or at the Southern Institute of Technology. Failure to produce the timesheet on time would result in a delay in the Trainee being paid.

Having successfully completed all the requirements of the programme Jade was offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training which placed him with Scott Sheetmetal in Gore to complete the remaining Level 3 and Level 4 practical unit standards.

James Harvey – Apprentice Heavy Fabrication Engineer

After completing his secondary schooling at Menzies College, James was employed as a labourer for a local engineering company.

During this time James had the opportunity to see first hand what engineers do and, wanting to improve his status in the workplace, he decided to apply for an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training. He has been placed with Donald Engineering for his on job practical training.

To complete the Level 4 National Certificate in Heavy Fabrication Engineering James must complete a range of theory and practical unit standards.

James' off job theory training has been provided by the Southern Institute of Technology through his attendance at weekly evening classes and a three week block course each year.

Regular attendance at evening class is extremely important as apprentices need to complete the theory component of each unit standard before they can be workplace assessed in the practical components of this qualification.

An apprenticeship offers the opportunity to gain a Level 4 qualification without needing to take on a student debt. Apprentices are paid as they learn. Southern Group Training, as employer, pays for James' annual apprentice registration fee, Training Manual, evening class and block course fees, and pays him while he is attending his annual three week block course. Travel and accommodation costs for any block courses held outside Southland are also covered.

Jeff Mitchell – Heavy Fabrication Engineer

Jeff completed his secondary education at Menzies College and began study towards the Level 2 National Certificate in Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering at the Southern Institute of Technology in 2001.

Mid way through the pre apprenticeship course Jeff was offered an apprenticeship with Southern Group Training and seconded to E Type Engineering where he was taught the practical skills. The theory elements are taught through weekly evening classes. While Jeff did not have the preferred level of maths competency, NCEA Level 1 and 2, he worked hard to bring himself up to speed with the mathematical requirements.

Once Jeff had completed the theory assessment for a unit standard he was then able to be assessed in the practical elements, provided that he was able to prove that he was competent in the various tasks.

To achieve practical competency Jeff had to be able to complete the required practical tasks consistently well, unsupervised, in a commercial timeframe, using safe work practices. This level of competency is gained through practical work experience on job and through a series of block courses which encompass both theory and practical elements.

Matthew Dickie – Apprentice M & D Engineer

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.

Michelle Beer – Automotive Electrical Engineer

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.