Priority Training to Rebuild a City And Maintain a Nation

12 June 2012

Priority Training to Rebuild a City And Maintain a Nation

You can’t rebuild a city or maintain a country without qualified trades’ people.

And as part of the New Zealand government’s focus on repelling the growing trades’ skills shortage and rebuilding Christchurch, Waiariki Institute of Technology has taken on the challenge of providing the on-going skilled workforce to meet the growing needs of New Zealand.

Waiariki’s director of the School of Trade Training Kevin Uncles is leading a charge to find approximately 220 to 250 additional trade trainees for the second semester.

It has been reported that New Zealand will need an estimated 17,000 additional builders by 2014 as well as more plasterers, painters, brick/block layers, roofers and plumbers/drain layers plus the support for theses trades’ people.

“This will tend to spread out the boom and busts [highs and lows] of building … If we’ve got this [need] it’s, going to be a nice steady curve for the next 20 years or so: builders can’t plan when they’re busy one year and have nothing the next,” says Mr Uncles.

“The trades are those identified by the Tertiary Education Commission, NZQA and the government as priority trades for assisting Christchurch. They know that everyone won’t go to Christchurch but they anticipate that these [trainees] will fill the void created by those who do go to Christchurch.”

Mr Uncles believes there are huge on-going opportunities for the wider Bay of Plenty region.

“The Christchurch rebuild will use tonnes and tonnes of wood and we’re sitting here in the middle of one of the best forest areas in the country so we’ve got the resources we can contribute. It would be absolutely crazy to buy sawn timber back from China.”

As well as the normal semester two placements at Waiariki, the institute is partnering with iwi groups in areas like Taumaranui and Opotiki to provide opportunity for people train in the priority trades which also includes electrical, engineering, fabrication, interior design, horticulture and turf management.

Training for priority trades will take place outside of the Waiariki rohe as well and additional tutors would be employed to deliver the training where and when required.

ENDS

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