Finding a pathway to a career
Workplace visit part of programme
When he was “a skinnylegged 17-year-old”, Tony Lafferty left school to become a building apprentice. Now, he’s construction manager at Landmark Homes Taupo¯ . In the intervening 17 years, he’s finished his apprenticeship, progressed to becoming a foreman running building sites and now he manages multiple building sites, earns a good salary and has just built and sold a spec home for a tidy sum. Has building been a good career for him? Yes, definitely.
It’s all those opportunities that having a trade has offered Tony that he was keen to convey to year 11 students from Tauhara and Taupo¯-nui-a-Tia colleges recently when they visited a Landmark Homes building site as part of the Pathways Connect programme.
Pathways Connect is organised by Taupo¯ Pathways, which connects young people, educators and employers. The workplace visits were intended to give students an understanding of employer expectations, workplace cultures and career pathways, see how what they learn at school is used in the workplace, help them make informed decisions about their future career paths and learn about the skills and qualifications they need to get their dream job.
Some 300 students had the opportunity to visit a variety of local employers and workplaces around Taupo¯ .
Students interested in trades such as building visited the site of six duplexes Landmark Homes is constructing on the Nga Roto Estate near Taupo¯ Airport where Tony and Landmark Homes’ sales and marketing co-ordinator Paige Nairn showed them around and Tony talked about his own experiences of going into a trade.
Tony told 10 Taupo¯-nui-a-Tia College students from the engineering and hard materials classes that on his first day as a building apprentice he found himself at a building site in Rainbow Drive tying steel footings in -3C cold.
“I thought ‘what have I done?’. But I’ve never looked back, I’ve had a great career. Once you’re in the building industry you never want to leave. I really enjoy it.
“There’s so many avenues to take,” Tony said, listing plumbers, electricians, carpenters, gibstoppers, plasterers, painters drain layers, air-conditioning technicians, concrete placers and excavators as just some of the many building-related trades available. .
Tony says the soft skills employers want in their staff are enthusiasm, punctuality, initiative and willingness to learn.
“There’s a bit of a shortage of young keen apprentices, with the emphasis on keen. It’s all well and good getting a pay cheque at the end of the week, but actually being interested and engaged is probably where the shortage is. I know some builders who go through two or three labourers a year because they don’t show up or something like that.”
Student Myles Sprague, 16, said he came along to have a look at the building trades because he was interested in hands-on learning and had had some experience building. “My mate’s dad’s a builder so I’ve done a little bit of work . . . and that type of stuff has always interested me.”
Sue Maclean, of Taupo Pathways Connect, says the idea of Pathways Connect, which first ran in 2019, is to expose year 11 students to local job opportunities and to start engaging them in potential career pathways.
She said the idea of getting the students out to talk to employers in year 11 was because then in year 12 they could target their subject choices towards career areas they were interested in.
“It’s also getting them to be better equipped to make informed choices about their career paths.”
Sue says the feedback from students and employers about the Pathways visits has been positive.
“I think for the kids they’re realising that this is what they really need to start thinking about.”
She said the 20-plus employers involved in Pathways Connect were also keen to see the youth who were coming through because they were potential future employees and showcasing the career paths in their business.
“They’re very, very good about giving the youth the opportunities to have a go. I think we’re very lucky in Taupo¯.”
It takes a special horse to change the life of a disabled rider. Taupo¯ Riding for the Disabled has taken on two rescue horses from the SPCA and is committed to nursing them back to health over the next few months.
Riding For The Disabled Association (RDA) administrator Georgie Fairest went to meet the horses a month ago and said although they were malnourished she could tell straight away they have amazing personalities.
The grey named Bubbles and a bay named Buster, have been together for 15 years.
“You can tell by their nature they are very kind and they have been exposed to a lot of activities. They are very balanced, calm boys,” said Georgie.
However, only seven weeks ago Buster and Bubbles had a body condition factor of one out of five after being starved and neglected.
It was feared Buster may not survive.
The SPCA nursed the horses for three weeks, both needing food and urgent veterinary treatment.
Spikes from their teeth were going into their gums, they had dermatitis in their eyes and their faces still need constant washing. A fungal infection had set into their skin and their coats need grooming.
A farrier filed down their overgrown feet, which fortunately appeared to have been well looked after before they were neglected.
They are still putting on weight but they still require tonics to aid digestion and drenching for internal parasites.
Georgie says it was a risk to take on Bubbles and Buster, but with five disabled children on the RDA waiting list, she thinks it was a risk worth taking.
“You can get them well and happy with food in their tummies, and they may perk up quite a lot and not be suitable.”
On average only 50 per cent of the horses that are trialled are a good fit. Georgie says it can take months to trial a horse, with only the quietest retained.
“They’ve got to cope with balls flying past their head. Not mind accidental bumps from the riders and not become upset when a rider screams with joy.”
Currently 54 students attend 12 weekly sessions, and 27 volunteers plus four high school students attend through the Gateway job programme and the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
“We need at least 10 more volunteers
You can tell by their nature they are very kind and they have been exposed to a lot of activities. Georgie Fairest
to get those five students off the waiting list.”
It is hoped the service can expand to include an extra session on Monday morning.
An increased number of volunteers would also allow Taupo¯ Riding for the Disabled to train a special team that would specifically offer a service for those suffering mental illness.
“Horses have the ability to take away a person’s stress and worry. I think it is because the horse is so big, the person has no space in their brain for any grief.”
She says volunteers take special pride in the positive feedback from students and their families.
“One of our parents emailed us to say attending Taupo¯ Riding for the Disabled is the only school activity where their child isn’t coming last, isn’t the slowest, isn’t the worst, or isn’t being ignored.”
Georgie says there is growing demand for the service especially from a growing number of kids with anxiety and mental health issues since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Taupo¯ Riding for the Disabled is looking for 10 volunteers with happy,
friendly personalities to either work with the children and horses or to help care for the horses and manage the paddocks.
“No experience is required and the work involves putting horse covers on, taking horse covers off, feeding the horses, moving fences or cleaning tack.”
If you would like to volunteer at Taupo¯ Riding of the Disabled get in touch with Georgie by emailing tauporda@gmail.com or phone 377 0192.
Givealitte page @Rescued Ponies has been set up to raise money to cover some of the costs of nurturing Bubbles and Buster back to health.
It is hoped to raise $3500 for feed, medical, chiropractor, covers, farrier treatments, session training, veterinary treatments and supplements.