Torbay Apprentice is Grateful for ATT Scholarship

TORBAY APPRENTICE IS GRATEFUL FOR ATT SCHOLARSHIP TO ATTEND OUTWARD BOUND COURSE

IT’S REALLY HELPED MY CONFIDENCE,
HE SAYS

“Outward Bound has really helped me build confidence in myself,” says Torbay apprentice plumber/ gasfitter Callum Seales. Earlier this year Callum won one of two ATT/Skills Outward Bound Scholarships that paid the fees and travel to undertake a week-long course at Outward Bound’s Marlborough Sounds base.

Callum returned from Outward Bound’s Compass Course for emerging talent in mid-November. The Compass Course is designed for those people early in their careers to help them focus on developing personal confidence and a strong sense of responsibility. Outward Bound says it will challenge participants to strive for greatness and will help them understand the value of communicating face-to-face with colleagues and customers.

Callum says the highlight for him was on Day 4 which focussed on sea skills, rowing and sailing, and then spending the night on Outward Bound’s cutter. “I was skipper of the cutter, and the wind got up quickly and started pushing us towards the rocks in Queen Charlotte Sound. Everybody was looking at me wondering what we should do so I had to think quite quickly. Thankfully in the end we managed to get the cutter and the crew clear and safely away. Being partly responsible for that was very satisfying. I’m very grateful to ATT and Skills for the ATT/Skills Outward Bound Scholarship and the opportunity this has given me. It was an amazing experience.”

Callum is employed by ATT as an apprentice plumber/gasfitter at Bassett Plumbing & Drainage on Auckland’s North Shore. ATT’s regional manager for North Auckland Ross Cornes, says he was delighted at what Callum had achieved in his week at Outward Bound. “Callum now knows he has the skill and ability to handle a range of situations. He has returned with a lot more confidence, and that bodes very well for both his professional and personal future.”

ATT’s CEO, Gray Paterson says he’s delighted that Callum not only enjoyed Outward Bound’s Compass Course but also that he has gained so much confidence. “The ATT/Skills Outward Bound Scholarship has been established for apprentices such as Callum to experience not only the physical and mental challenges of Outward Bound, but also to achieve more self-assurance and self-responsibility.”

ATT recruits, employs and places apprentices into ‘host’ businesses in the plumbing, gasfitting, drainlaying and electrical trades. By the end of December, ATT expects to be employing 355 apprentices and by the end of 2017, ATT expects to have 430 apprentices employed all over the country. ATT operates from four locations – Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch; its head office is in Highbrook in South Auckland. Established in 1991, this year ATT celebrates its 25th anniversary. For more information about ATT, click here.

ENDS

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