He has just completed his apprenticeship as a fitter and turner.
Soon he will be off to Nebraska, United States, to help install a chicken trussing machine.
The 22-year-old has worked at Scott Technology in Dunedin for nearly five years.
He previously spent time with the company through the gateway programme while he was still at John McGlashan College.
"I never really wanted to go to university, but I was always very practical at school.
"I’ve been chipping away [at the apprenticeship].
"You start off pretty green, but you progress along the way."
Scott Technology’s two-line machine, which can truss 24 chickens per minute per line, will be shipped off to a United States meat processing firm.
Mr Russell will spend about 12 days helping out with the installation, and ensuring everything goes smoothly.
"The reason we made this machine is the American firm was having trouble with repetitive strain injuries through manual work."
The apprenticeship was done through Competenz, which is now part of Te Pūkenga.
"I come from a farming background.
"You have to be pretty adaptable.
"But I would really recommend studying a trade.
"You have a lot of support.
"The final push towards the end is really great.
"If you want a job and don’t want a massive student loan, this is definitely the way to go about it."
The world was moving towards robotics and automation.
He hoped the job would take him other places.
"There’s plenty of opportunity with robotics.
"This line of work is really developing."
