Paia Pardoe and Dean Tuari in their new happy place- the automotive workshop of EIT’s School of Trades and Technology

Two men are now following their dreams by doing an EIT pre-apprenticeship automotive programme after about a decade each in unsatisfying jobs.  Both decided in their mid 20s to try something that would give them more job satisfaction.

Both were thinking along the lines of diesel engineering.

Paia had always wanted to tinker with engines, wishing he could repair his own car. And although he did not know how, he was keen to learn.

He discovered that studying EIT’s Level 3 automotive programme  could help kick start him into an  apprenticeship  which would later enable him to be paid while he learned.

He wondered how he could manage the first year’s study but discovered he would be eligible for a Te Toka Scholarship which pays the course fees and provides other assistance for students of Māori and Pacifika descent.

He is finding the programme and its tutors fantastic.

“They help us network with the various workshops in town and I will soon be doing work experience which will hopefully help me into a managed apprenticeship through EIT.”

Likewise, Dean is also thriving on the programme, having always had a passion for cars. Like Paia, he had little idea of how to repair them and is discovering a whole new world under the bonnets of the vehicles EIT provides for students’ practical studies.

Everything they do is photographed to provide evidence for their theoretical work and assignments.
When these are all up to date, Dean is allowed to spend time working on his own “new” vehicle, an old Ford Laser he bought for $50.
Today, after about $800 worth of new parts and many hours of work it is warranted and registered, an achievement that gives Dean an enormous amount of satisfaction.
“I did not know much about cars before I started this course but now I have accomplished this,” he said.
As well, the guys are each buying a new tool whenever they can afford it, so by the time they finish the programme they will be fully kitted up.
“Their training is coming along well,” said assistant head of “They are showing a great work ethic and a willingness to learn – we want these guys employed locally,” he said.
EIT now provides the management of automotive apprenticeships, leaving the industry to focus on apprentices’ practical skills.