Success stories continue to flow from the Trades Academy @ EIT Tairāwhiti.

Each Friday more than 100 high school students from all over the region head to the Tairāwhiti campus to try their hands at subjects including agriculture, automotive, building and construction, hair and beauty, health and fitness, hospitality and trades skills.

EIT trades academy manager Paul Hursthouse says the benefits are felt far and wide.

“The academy gives schools great curriculum choice, expands students’ horizons as to career opportunities, and instils in them the confidence to move into apprenticeships or further tertiary study,” he says. “And while they are here, they are also achieving NCEA credits.”

All secondary schools from the wider Tairāwhiti take part in the academy, which has just entered its third year.

“We are all very proud of how the region has embraced the academy,” says Mr Hursthouse.

“The academy opens all sorts of doors of opportunity for these students.”

Students come from the wider reaches of the region to take part, from Hicks Bay on the coast, down to Wairoa in the south. Some who have been part of earlier intakes are
now in full-time study at EIT Tairāwhiti.

“This lets students find their niche and hopefully they go on and explore that even further.”

Meanwhile Hawke’s Bay Schools Trades Academy @ EIT has 260 high school students enrolled in its third year for the highly successful partnership between the
region’s secondary schools and EIT. With computer technician and fashion added to the programmes, Hawke’s Bay students have been able to choose from 12 different courses.

Similar programmes are offered in other parts of New Zealand but Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay have been standouts for student enthusiasm and uptake.