HomeNewsMPTT supports three students into the trades

MPTT supports three students into the trades

By UCOL on Thursday, 15 November 2018

A photograph of UCOL Māori and Pasifika Trades Training recipients.

A common theme brought students Thorne Dunn, Cody Beale and Kane Drysdale to UCOL to sign up as NZ Certificate in Construction Skills level 3 students. They wanted to enter a career that would allow them to be hands-on, have variety in what they did and get them outside and working on different projects.

All three agree that without a scholarship through Māori and Pasifika Trades Training (MPTT) they wouldn’t be studying full-time “Originally I was thinking of coming down from Auckland and doing some study for four months, then I would have needed to work again. I was stoked when UCOL contacted me to apply for MPTT as receiving the scholarship means I have been able to stay and do my study all in one year”. said Thorne 

They also agree the mix of study and getting out on the building sites is the best way to learn, “UCOL sets you up with the basics, the foundations, when we got to site we felt we knew some stuff and didn’t have to ask questions all the time we could just get stuck in”.

UCOL students
“Working on site has also meant that we are learning from guys who are running their own companies, and have spent time on the tools, they know what’s what and it’s cool that they are sharing their knowledge – it’s a great way to learn.

MPTT is more than just a scholarship the support of the MPTT team and the teaching staff also means a lot to the students “Thanks to UCOL we knew we were eligible for MPTT, and thanks to the MPTT team and teaching support we are doing well here”.

Jim Moffett a Lecturer in Construction had this to say about the students, and also doing Trades at UCOL “The opportunity students get is to go out and work on real live jobs sites, two of these students are busy building at an Early Childhood Centre and one other is working on a project at a school’.

“One of our main aims is to make these students employable, which means turning up on time and being reliable. Having a good grounding in health and safety is also a plus for any employer and means the students can hit the ground running. I myself have been in the trade for 40 years so I know what employers want from these students”.

“The jobs are never the same, sometimes its more construction, other times it’s laying foundations – whatever it is, it’s teaching and challenging them for when they get out there full time”.

“I think these boys are probably thinking it wasn’t so bad in the classroom now that they are settling into the work force and what they might be doing for the rest of their lives. But if you enjoy your job it not really work is it?” 
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