After college, Corrin made the move from Wellington down to Christchurch to study engineering at university.
It wasn’t long before he left the course and decided that he wanted to hunt for a full-time job in Wellington.
“I was searching for office jobs for ages, just whatever I could find. I think I applied for around 30 jobs and didn’t really get a call back. I ended up getting offered a temp position, not in an office, but outside at the Southern Landfill."
Corrin jumped at the opportunity and worked for 10 weeks at the landfill doing maintenance work.
This short stint eventually led him to working at the Wellington Botanical Garden ki Paekākā in grounds maintenance, where he heard about the Horticulture Apprenticeship - a three-year programme where you complete a NZ Certificate in Horticulture (Level Four) - Nursery.
Loving his time at the Gardens, when he finished his short-term contract, he applied for the apprenticeship and landed the role, which was based out at the Berhampore Nursery.
He believes that the structure of the apprenticeship - working while studying - meant he could apply his practical day-to-day experiences and knowledge to his studies.
“Everyone does the internship on a different timeline. Your first year is usually working towards level three, and your last two years are at level four.
“The coursework is booklet-type work, and from my perspective it feels like you’re doing all the things in the course already so you can easily come up with examples. It didn’t feel overwhelming to do both. It all worked out so well.”