Building careers by the motorway

Matthew Tso learns who erects those mysterious houses in Petone.

On a sliver of land wedged between the State Highway 2 motorway and Petone Railway Station sits a school. Thousands of motorists every day whizz past the Wellington School Of Construction, the site of an old bowling alley, where students learn their trade.

What many bleary-eyed train passengers and commuters joining the morning rush might not know is the structures are being assembled by the country’s next generation of tradespeople.

WelTec and Whitireia School Of Construction head Neil Mcdonald said they get quite a few inquisitive passers-by asking about the houses that continuously pop up at the conspicuous site.

About half-a-dozen 113-square-metre, three-bedroom houses take shape over 34 weeks, built by WelTec carpentry students completing the New Zealand Certificate in Construction Trade Skills.

The course is a precursor to many students becoming apprentices and simulates working in a team environment whilst providing an opportunity to hone their technical skills.

McDonald said it was a hands-on way to learn that was particularly suited to teaching construction skills. ‘‘It’s better than sitting in a room. The theory is applied in the workplace and if they make a mistake, they can learn how to correct [the mistake] and avoid it in the future.’’

So what happens to the houses once they’re built? They’re all eventually sold by tender to become homes and baches in places as far away as Kapiti or Wairarapa.

They are designed to be picked up and transported by truck, safely passing under bridges or powerlines on the way to their new locations.

McDonald said WelTec was firmly in the business of learning and education, and the houses were sold only to recoup the cost of materials.

That money was then put back into buying materials for the next class.

Waiwhetu Marae in Lower Hutt had one of the houses built on site by WelTec’s students two years ago as part of the marae’s hauora, or health, service facility.

McDonald said that building was very similar to the houses erected at WelTec’s site but it was reconfigured for use as a medical centre, instead of a domestic dwelling.

Wirangi Luke, general manager of Te Runanganui o Te Atiawa, which runs the facility on behalf of the marae, said they were extremely pleased with the building which had become an important part of its service.

‘‘[it’s] an additional whare that we can actually use for clinical supervision, and a home where people can come and visit, rather than going to the medical centre. It’s used for a variety of stuff. We’ll have breast-feeding clinics, we’ll have midwives come in, diabetes clinics.’’

The facility was built by Maori students who were based at the marae for much of their course.

Luke said the students became part of the marae community, with many keeping in contact. ‘‘A lot of the students come back today to see how it’s been going. Every time you build something in a community, it’s part of you for the rest of your life.’’

McDonald said WelTec would like to do more projects like Waiwhetu Marae’s health facility, where students could gain their qualifications while working on something with social outcomes.

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