Building a career for himself: New Plymouth carpentry apprentice awarded PlaceMakers’ scholarship

Local building apprentice Matt Stringer, who hopes to complete his building apprenticeship next year, was given a real boost when he recently became one of the 12 recipients of the 2013 PlaceMakers Apprentice Scholarship Scheme (P.A.S.S.).
Matt hopes to fast track his studies to do annual volunteer building work in Christchurch and other more remote places around the globe.
In partnership with the Building Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), PlaceMakers last year called for applicants for the scheme's pilot year and was met with an over-whelming response.
The scholarship means Matt will have his tuition fees paid by the building materials supplier and the PlaceMakers New Plymouth branch will also provide on-going mentoring, support and experience for him as he works towards completing his qualification.
The Christchurch-born 23 year old studied Finance & Marketing at Otago University before deciding to follow his dream of owning his own business one day.
This, paired with his love for working outside, saw Matt look to the building industry for employment and he was taken on as an apprentice by Ben Hawke of KoDesign Building.
"Owning my own building business ticks all the boxes for me and the scholarship means I have a great opportunity to learn about how to be a businessman as well as a builder.
"Ben is teaching me so much and the mentoring from Steve Murray at PlaceMakers will be invaluable," Matt says.
Matt feels the building industry in New Plymouth is booming. Kodesign has most recently been building a dairy shed and has several other projects lined up from local farmers in the coming months.
PlaceMakers Chief Executive John Beveridge said the calibre of applications for the scheme's pilot year was overwhelming.
"The pool of talent we had to choose from for 2013 was exceptionally high and it's great to be able to partner with BCITO to offer the P.A.S.S. programme to someone as enthusiastic and well deserving as Matt.
"There hasn't been a better time to start in the building industry in New Zealand for a long while.
"The Christchurch rebuild and Auckland's population growth means the demand for skilled builders is high so it's a great time for young people to think about a career in the building industry.
"PlaceMakers is proud to be a part of training the country's next generation of builders and we wish Matt all the best in his studies," Mr Beveridge said.
Truly a 'Jack-of-all-trades', Matt enjoys wakeboarding, snowboarding and playing rugby. When he can drag himself away from work, he likes travelling and meeting new people. It was a recent trip to South America that impelled him to want to help build homes overseas.