Building a Great Reputation

May 30, 2017

Top EIT apprentice Michael Roberts at work on a Napier Hill property

Ace apprentice Michael Roberts likes to share his love of building, organising and running weekly coaching sessions for workmates at his Tamatea home. 

Michael’s commitment to training was celebrated recently at the EIT/Rotary of Greenmeadows Trade Training Awards, where he was presented with the Top Overall Apprentice Mike Davis Memorial Cup after being named 2016’s top overall apprentice in his National Certificate in Carpentry [Level 4] class.

EIT tutor Shane Sigglekow regards Michael as a great role model for his fellow apprentices at Richard Kepka Builders, helping them with their diary entries and recording photographic evidence of their progress in the workplace.

Michael is due to complete his apprenticeship this year and Shane, finding him a great asset, admits to feeling a little conflicted about signing him off the programme.

“This is a first for me,” the carpentry tutor says of a student running coaching sessions.  “To have an apprentice sort something like this off their own bat, it shows dedication to his company and the trade.”

The former Lindisfarne College student left Hawke’s Bay to study for a Bachelor of Technology (Product Development) but dropped out halfway through the degree programme after realising that wasn’t what he wanted to do with his life.

Married with two children, he isn’t ruling out completing a degree sometime in the future, cross-crediting into a Bachelor of Engineering.

He stresses, however, that he loves building.                                              

“I had a business renovating houses and did up half a dozen or so homes until the property market crashed.”  

Michael’s attention to detail and professional approach make him an asset to his employer, says Shane, who nominated his 36-year-old student for the overall award.

EIT, in affiliation with industry training organisations, has more than 200 apprentices enrolled in its School of Trades and Technology.