Media release – 27 January 2012 

Open day for new Trades Academy 

Students who have questions about the new West Coast Trades Academy can attend an open day at Tai Poutini Polytechnic on Friday 3 February. 

This is the first year the Trades Academy will run on the West Coast.  It offers young people the chance to learn practical work skills while they are still at school, and prepares them for meaningful jobs once they are ready to enter the workforce. 

This year training towards a National Certificate will be offered to year 11 to 13 students in hospitality, early childhood education, building and construction, and mechanical and automotive engineering.  The Trades Academy is a partnership between all local secondary and area schools and Tai Poutini Polytechnic and is co-ordinated by Greymouth High School’s Karoro Learning. 

West Coast Trades Academy Manager Sarah Caseley says schools have been very supportive of the Trades Academy and already some students have signed up. 

“The open day is a chance for students to learn more about the programmes we offer, meet our tutors and hear from local business owners about what they’re looking for in an employee. Each student will have the option to find out if the Trades Academy is right for them,” she says. 

Reefton area school student Luke Barrow has already enrolled in the National Certificate in Building, Construction, and Allied Trades Skills (Level 2).  

“I was interested in building and hoping to get an apprenticeship when I left school, this came up and I thought it was a good opportunity.  I probably would have finished school at the end of year 11 but now I plan to stay for year 12 to complete the Trades Academy,” he says. 

Trades Academies have been running successfully around New Zealand since 2011 and while it is too early to give final achievement results, the Ministry of Education says feedback from many students is that participation in the academy has encouraged them to stay at school and return when otherwise they probably would have left. 

Warren Smith, Head of the Trades Department at Tai Poutini is excited about the development of the Trades Academy.

 “Tai Poutini Polytechnic has great trade facilities with the latest equipment in our workshops. The Trades academy gives high school students a head start on their trades training, so when they complete High School they will have more unit standards when they move onto Tai Poutini courses, and have a head start on their apprenticeships.” 

The open day runs from 10am to 12.30pm on Friday 3 February at Tai Poutini Polytechnic and students from Karamea Area School to South Westland Area School will attend.  The Trades Academy programme is free for West Coast high school students. 

For more information contact :
Sarah Caseley, West Coast Trades Academy Manager
Phone : 03 768 9998 x 702 or 027 252 4447