MIT carpentry student wins national title at key industry event

24/06/24

Third year MIT carpentry student Daniel Smith has won the NZCB Apprentice Challenge at the building industry group’s annual conference in Wellington; the first time that MIT has had a national finalist in this competition.

Thirty-two-year-old Daniel beat out nineteen other finalists from around the country to take the coveted title.

Participants in the NZCB Apprentice Challenge national final were judged on examples of their work, dedication towards their apprenticeship, and a presentation to hundreds of NZCB member builders attending the conference.

As part of the national competition, Daniel had to give a presentation on his favourite power tool, take part in a panel interview and undergo a written test.

Daniel’s team also took home first place for the design of their build challenge, building a dog kennel with Courtney Willan, who was the north Auckland regional winner. Conference attendees voted for the winning design.

MIT carpentry lecturer Bruce Smith said he’s extremely proud of Daniel’s performance and achievement, which will help Daniel to achieve his future goal of owning his own building business.

“Throughout the whole journey of entering the Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge, Daniel was confident and professional.

“Daniel stayed up until two o’clock in the morning two nights in a row to draw plans of the dog kennel and make a take-off sheet, write a speech, practice it and study for the test.

“I was so proud of him because he wanted to win and worked very hard to make that happen. It also helps showcase the calibre of learners we have in our carpentry programme at MIT and will hopefully inspire other students to join the challenge in future.”

Daniel is an apprentice with Structured Builders in Auckland.