A NEW CAREER TAKES OFF

Mat Stockwell was one of hundreds of New Zealand airline pilots who lost their jobs in the fallout from Covid-19 – so he took the opportunity to revisit a long-held desire and is now an apprentice carpenter

After years of training and some time as a flight instructor, Mat spent seven years flying commercial planes, most recently A320s for Air New Zealand, domestically and overseas to Australia and the Pacific Islands. But his flying career came to an abrupt halt mid-2020, when he was one of more than 300 pilots laid off.

“No one expects their career to disappear overnight, but it happened to a lot of people in 2020 and I was one of them,” said Mat.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to think long about what to do next.

“I’ve always had an interest in building and I wanted to be a builder when I left high school, but I ended up becoming a pilot. I always kept that interest in the back of my mind, so, when I lost my job, it presented an opportunity to follow that dream again.”

As an apprentice, Mat is under no illusions that he has a lot to learn, but he has found there are transferrable skills from his former career, such as people skills.

“As a pilot, you can meet the person you’re flying with on the day and you have to quickly work well together as a team. Building is similar when you go into new teams on a new site – getting on with people well means everyone is able to do their jobs.”

There are big differences, too. Mat says he was surprised just how physical building is and the regular hours took some adjusting to.

“Physically, it’s been quite demanding. I would have considered myself a relatively fit guy from competing in triathlon, but building is very tiring on the body and it has taken me time to adjust to that. The predictable routine is a change for me, too. Starting at 7:30am and finishing at 5:00pm is a more stable work pattern than I was used to as a pilot.”

Mat has been impressed with the level of problem-solving required on building sites.

“I never thought building would be simple, but I’ve still been really pleased to see that to be a successful builder, you really need to be thinking and coming up with different solutions every day, which keeps it really stimulating.”

In terms of the future, Mat is focused on completing his apprenticeship first and has some ideas about what might come next.

“My first goal is to become qualified builder. Further down the line, I’d like to see what options are available in the design side of things. Right now, I am happy to be contributing to building quality houses for New Zealanders to live in. I’ve found a lot of satisfaction in seeing a build come together – it’s a very tangible result you can see and this is an aspect of the job that I really appreciate.”

Mat has a message for anyone considering shifting careers and becoming an apprentice builder.

“I don’t claim to know it all after 4-5 months, but I’ve already learned a lot. I’m really enjoying it and I can see a rewarding future in it. So, I recommend building to anyone willing to put the work in for a long-term career. I also love the idea that I might be able to contribute to building my own house some day.”