Master Plumbers
MASTERLINK OUTWARD BOUND
Jack Anderson (front row, far left) was part of the Huria Watch on the 2023 Outward Bound Building Leaders Course.
INWARD STRENGTH FROM
OUTWARD BOUND When 18-year-year Masterlink drainlaying apprentice Jack Anderson got the news that he’d won a 2023 Masterlink Outward Bound Scholarship, he was excited but had no idea what to expect. We caught up with Jack on his return to talk about the experience, which challenged both his physical and mental resilience.
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escribed as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the Masterlink Outward Bound Scholarship offers 10 Masterlink apprentices the chance to join other construction industry trainees on a fully funded 16-day Building Leaders Course in the Marlborough Sounds. Among the 2023 winners was 18-year-old apprentice Jack Anderson, a keen rugby player with an appetite for adventure. Midway through last year, Jack decided he wanted to leave school to pursue a trade. After catching up with his Gateway coordinators and running through his options, he chose drainlaying. Within a week, he had secured a 10-day work experience
AUTHOR: CONNIE SELLERS placement with Tauranga Hardware & Plumbing (THP), his current host company. While doing work experience, he completed Gateway 2.0 with Masterlink, and by the time the 10 days were up, THP had offered to take him under their wing as an apprentice.
A no-brainer to apply Jack first heard about Outward Bound when applications opened for the 2023 scholarships, offered by Masterlink thanks to the generosity of sponsors Methven Caroma. Masterlink Apprentice Training Manager Pete Shields, recognising in Jack what he describes as “an amazing work ethic and a
massive willingness to learn”, encouraged the young apprentice to give it a shot. “I did a bit of research on what it’s all about and it looked like a wicked experience,” says Jack. “It seemed a nobrainer to write out an application.” When he got the news that he’d been selected, Jack was excited but says he didn’t know exactly what to expect. “There is a lot of unknown around what you do on the course, so I had a lot of different emotions and expectations.” The leadership course takes place in the middle of winter in Anakiwa, at the head of Marlborough’s Queen Charlotte Sound, where overnight temperatures
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