Matt St Jack: From Sweeping Floors to Apprentice of the Year

–Matt St Jack working on an outboard at Hideaway Bay –

Matt St Jack: From Sweeping Floors to Automotive Marine Technology Apprentice of the Year

Huon Aquaculture’s Matt St Jack has taken out the Kangan Institute’s coveted Automotive Marine Technology Apprentice of the Year, and Automotive Inspirational Student of the Year awards.

Matt began at Huon three years ago as a Trades Assistant sweeping floors and seized the opportunity to upskill.

“I started sweeping the floors in the workshop which gave me the foot in the door that I needed. One thing led to another and I spoke to Mandy, who works in HR, about some more work and she asked if I was interested in doing an outboard apprenticeship.” “It was too good of an opportunity to pass up so here I am today!”

Matt completed his apprenticeship with Victoria’s Kangan Institute, during which it was clear that he had a talent for the course.

–“I’ve always been interested in being an outboard mechanic but if you had asked me 10 years ago if I was going to be one, I probably would have laughed.” –Matt credits his success to being older and having some life experience which gave him the motivation to excel. “I guess being a bit older with a bit more life experience helps—as opposed to a lot of the kids straight out of school that go into it. Having a mortgage and a wife and kids also puts the pressure on to provide and do the right thing.”

“In a nutshell, receiving these awards is a nice way to have my efforts recognised.”

Matt’s advice to people interested in starting an apprenticeship is to not underestimate the importance of the gift of the gab.

–“My advice is that the teachers are really good, but they are swamped, so talk to as many people that you can to show them that you are interested and motivated.” –

“Once you do this, you will pick up some absolute pearlers from the teachers which is the real reason to do an apprenticeship,” finished Jack.

–THRIVE mentees cooking with Huon Salmon –

A Fresh Approach to Community Grants

Are you part of a Tasmanian community group who has a great project but it needs a little bit of a kick-start to get off the ground? Then our Helping Hand Community Grants program might be a good fit.

We believe that being part of the Tasmanian community brings with it a responsibility to support the groups and organisations that help to keep it safe, strong, vibrant and connected. This is precisely why back in 2013, our grants program was established and it is still going strong today.

To coincide with our grant round this year, we are pleased to be releasing a new Policy and key themes which will shore up our ability to provide assistance to widereaching, sustainable, community capacitybuilding activities.

–“A textbook example of the projects that we will be supporting moving forward is the St Helens Neighbourhood House THRIVE Mentoring Program.” –

Based at the St Helens Neighbourhood House, the Thrive Mentoring Program aims to increase engagement in schools to improve youth pathways to employment, as well as the overall health and wellbeing of people living independently.

The mentees involved in the cooking program learnt how to plan and prepare budget-friendly meals, equipping them valuable cooking skills and a catalogue of nutritious meals they can carry with them into adulthood.

This is a great example of a project that has clear and long-standing benefits for the wider community.

Applications will be accepted in April with the policy, key themes and application form available online via www.huonaqua.com. au/community-grants/

Engaging with our Community

–Luke Cavanagh, Pene Snashall and Senator Eric Abetz at Parliament House –

Flavours of Tasmania

Every year, Tasmania’s best food and wine producers make the trip to Canberra to share their wares with politicians, staffers and media, at an event held at Parliament House.

Hosted by the Tasmanian Federal Liberal team, the event provides guests with an opportunity to taste why Tasmania has a reputation for world-class food and drink.

–Teams assemble at Meander –

–Adam, Nicole, Adam, Dani and Tony –

Mind Games

It’s not every day you get to play with snakes or participate in a life-sized game of Operation and all for a good cause! Huon sponsored one of the event challenges as well as entered a team in the inaugural Mind Games, a fun Amazing Racestyle event which raises funds and awareness for mental health research. Huge thanks to Adam Norris, Nicole Huxtable, Adam Roberts, Tony Baker and Dani Hidaka, for being such good sports and willing to step outside their comfort (and fitness) zone!

Our stage tested competitors to create the next big flavour for Huon Salmon using a series of mystery ingredients including jam, vegemite, and Nutella. Other stages included a silent disco, recreating Tasmanian landmarks out of bread and re-enacting Optus’ famous fish and chip advertisement. The event was a huge success with $70,000 raised for the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Any takers for our 2020 Mind Games team?

World Fly Fishing Championship

After five days of fierce competition across Tasmania between 23 teams of world-class fishers, Australia placed 7th in the World Fly Fishing Championship.

Huon was a major sponsor of the event, held for the first time in Tasmania which saw the State showcased as a global fly fishing destination with some of the best freshwater fishing spots include trout grown at Huon’s hatcheries!