Hell of a career start
A nationwide initiative is giving a Timaru man’s career a Hell of a start.
The Active in Hell traineeship programme, which has been running nationally by Hell Pizza and IDEA Services for about four years, has reached the Timaru branch this month.
The paid training programme teaches young people with learning disabilities some skills to help them transition into the workforce.
Kegan Patterson is Timaru’s first Active in Hell trainee, working two two-hour shifts per week during a six-week programme, with the potential for future work.
‘‘It’s been Patterson said. interesting,’’
He works in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and preparing pizzas with toppings, sauce before putting them in the oven.
Patterson hoped to use his new skills to help his grandmother make pizzas when he visited her in Waimate.
Duty manager Amber Lily has been working with Patterson for the past couple of weeks and taught him how to make and pull the dough through the roller machine ‘‘He’s amazing at chopping,’’ Lily said.
She hoped it helped him into work as he was always busy working while he was at the store.
Store manager Satwant Singh said it was a good opportunity for young people to learn new skills to help them get work.
‘‘It’s not easy to get jobs,’’ Singh said.
He hoped to run the programme again, which had been well-received by everyone, he said.
Singh encouraged more stores to pick up the programme, which 32 stores across the country had volunteered to do.
About 54 young people with learning disabilities had been paid to train since the programme was launched in 2013, with 36 people graduating last year.
Seven graduates received permanent employment with the company. A large block of vacant land on State Highway 1 near Christchurch Airport is to be developed for the first time.
The 5.8 hectare site, just northwest of the Sawyers Arms Rd roundabout, has an almost 1 kilometre SH1/Johns Rd frontage and is owned by Environment Canterbury (ECan).
It was part of a bigger block, of which 3ha was taken by the Crown for the widening of the state highway as part of the city’s $600 million motorway construction programme.
The land is part of ECan’s floodmanagement programme and was previously owned by the North Canterbury Catchment Board. Only the leasehold will be sold.
It is zoned for heavy industrial usage and has a rating value of around $4m.
ECan plans to put the land out for public tender. The successful tenderer or tenderers would sign a leasehold agreement and leasehold titles. Any planned changes of public tenure would have to be publicly notified.
Real estate agent Bayleys was looking for expressions of interest in the land, which is bordered by Graywacke Rd, McVicar’s timber yard and the North South Holiday Park. Bayleys agent Jeremy Speight said it would suit transport or logistics businesses. It would likely be available for 20-year periods with multiple rights or renewal available.
A proposed subdivision plan would see the land divided into one large 3.8ha block facing the road and four halfhectare blocks with Greywacke Rd entrances.
Speight said the land’s state highway location and proximity to the airport made it valuable. Developing it would require a major capital outlay, he said.
The move to divest the land follows ECan’s sale of the leasehold of the adjacent block between Johns Rd and Logistics Dr. That land was developed by Amherst Properties as an industrial subdivision for businesses.