Carpentry course comes to Turangi
Carpentry tutor Steven Wharehinga hopes that in a year, 26 work-ready young people will be available in Tu¯rangi to take up apprenticeships or new jobs.
And he’s doing his best to get them there, relocating from Palmerston North to Tu¯rangi each week to pass on his skills and knowledge at the 40-week fulltime pre-trades carpentry course.
The course began last month and will run until March 2022, and the aim is for the students, aged from 15 to 40, to finish ready to move into employment.
UCOL is a Palmerston-North based Institute of Technology with four campuses. It runs a pretrades course in Taumarunui and was approached by district councillor Tangonui Kingi and Nga¯ti Tu¯rangitukua to do the same thing in Tu¯ rangi for local students who found it too difficult or expensive to travel to Taupo¯.
Now Steven’s students, who are a mix of males and females, are studying for the level three NZ Certificate in Construction each weekday from 9am until 4.30pm. Fourteen students are from Tu¯rangi’s two schools and the other 12 are full-time adults.
It is run out of the Nga¯ti Tu¯rangitukua building in Atirau Rd, Tu¯ rangi, and as time goes on people will be able see the progress being made on a threebedroom relocatable house the students will be constructing.
Steven has strong wha¯nau and iwi connections to Tu¯rangi and Tu¯wharetoa. He grew up in the town when his father was a tunneller on the Tongariro Power Development and went to Hirangi Primary and Tongariro High.
“This actually gives me the opportunity to give back to a community that I call home.”
After finishing school, he did a pre-trades carpentry course, then joined the Army, in the Engineers Corps. He has been with UCOL for 16 years teaching construction and is used to dealing with all types of learners, including running programmes in Manawatu¯ Prison.
Steven started the Tu¯rangi students with the basics, spending four weeks teaching Pythagoras’ theorem and trigonometry to ensure they understand the mechanics of correct construction.
However, he says the biggest challenge is not teaching building skills, it’s getting students ready to be employed full-time.
“I have a wealth of knowledge and information that I can share with them but it’s having the courage to take that next step and selling themselves.
“If I can get 26 of them working full-time by the end of the course, that’s a huge win.”
The fees-free course is open to anybody and there is a lot of support to help the students succeed. It may even be the first of many, with Danny Reilly, UCOL’s executive dean of engineering and applied technologies, saying UCOL is committed to building long-term sustainable programmes in Tu¯ rangi with the Construction course being the first.
On the day the Taupo¯ & Tu¯ rangi Weekender arrived, the students had all just been issued with their own tool belts and tools, which they were wearing proudly. The deal is that the tools are theirs but must be looked after and any that go missing have to be replaced.
Students Logan Otimi, 15, and Marcus Bell, 16, are both still at school but fellow learner Paul Sayasamone, 16, is on the course full-time. He signed up because he wants to get a building apprenticeship and eventually build his own home. Logan and Marcus both want to get jobs after their study, with Marcus saying being a builder would be his dream job.
The trio had so far learned how to level and how to build a perfect square and said although it could be tricky, Steven made it easy for them to learn.
“We’ve learned how to properly make it square and stuff and heaps of maths. He makes it easy because we can use a calculator as well.”
Steven is supported by UCOL kaituhono mahi work broker Kelly Johnston and kaitiaki akonga Tahau Williams, who have helped the students apply for allowances and scholarships and focus on keeping them engaged, which frees up Steven to teach.
Last week the pair were out talking to local businesses, saying community support would help the students succeed. They were hoping for a big turnout at a Community Connect Hui being held next Wednesday evening, with everybody welcome.
“Come and see what we’re doing here,” Kelly says. “There’ll be a little bit of a presentation on what our programme is about, and to hear from some of our students. It can’t just be UCOL that gets these students through, it’s a whole community to assist and support each other and support each of our students to be successful. We’re changing lives here.”
The UCOL Community Connect Hui will be held at the Nga¯ti Tu¯rangitukua building at 130 Atirau Rd next Wednesday, June 30 from 5pm to 6.30pm for the community to come along and learn about the programme.