Student Stories

Ben would like to study arts and visual design at NMIT fulltime in the future, so when he heard about the new Art, Design & Digital Technology Trades programme he thought why not give it a go. Ben could see that this would be a great opportunity to have a look at the NMIT campus and develop skills that he can use to go into future study. Long term, his dream career would be working in Japan as an illustrator and animator.

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Phillip has really enjoyed the practical activities of the Uniformed Services course. These have ranged from taking part in challenging multi-person first aid scenarios, through to USAR missing person search scenarios and learning about the fire service through real life fire service training activities. Phillip says that meeting the professional people who work in these services has given him a much greater insight into the different roles and type of work they do. He has a lot of respect for the difficult work these people undertake and the challenges they face every day that they go to work. 

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Zoe began the year not knowing what Trades Academy would be like, nor what it would be like attend the NMIT Campus. Zoe says she made the right choice as she is loving the Health & Support Services course. Zoe has particularly enjoyed listening to the many different speakers from the health and wellbeing sectors who visit students in class, especially those speakers who talk about living with a disability and the impact this has on their lives. “These speakers were real and it was interesting to learn about their experiences and how they support others with disabilities in the community.”

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Briarna has thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the Tourism Operations course, especially meeting new people from different schools. Being able to visit different tourism destinations, learning about Maori culture and the history of the places she visited during the course, have had a big impact on Briarna.  

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Raumati sums up the Manaaki Tapoi programme using one word: “Whanaungatanga – it means that all of us here are whānau and we say that with pride. We’ve developed a real bond.”

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Donje heard about the programme through her school Careers Advisor. “It sounded like such a good opportunity that I thought I’d give it a go. I come from a small school and this has helped me to meet new people, learn some really cool things and develop my leadership skills.” Donje has enjoyed all the activities so far – mountain biking, sea-kayaking and rock climbing. “They’re challenging and fun. For me, it’s all about the experience. The credits are useful but they’re not the priority. I’m interested in developing my confidence and leadership skills more.”

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For Asher, the real highlights of the Adventure programme have been pushing his physical skills to new limits as well as further enhancing his personal and social skills working alongside other young people on the course. “We start off in groups with people we don’t know, but the programme is structured so that we get to know each other really well and we learn to trust one another and collaborate. I’ve developed my group communication and leadership skills which I’ll be able to use in the future.”

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Annie’s goal is to become a special effects make up and prosthetics designer for the film and theatre industry; and she’s doing everything she can while she’s still at school to make that dream a reality. Last year Annie completed the Level 2 Beauty programme and this year she’s extending her skills and knowledge further through the Level 3 Creative Design for Hair and Make Up programme. These programmes are building the foundation skills she needs to go on into future tertiary study and then employment in the industry.

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After talking to family and teachers, Katharine decided to enrol in the Trades Hairdressing programme, as it was a way to develop and extend her knowledge and interest in hair styling and beauty. Even though she’s the only student from Tapawera School in the programme, it has been an easy transition from school to Trades.

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The professional clinic environment and hands on learning of Trades Academy suit Kiara-Lee. In 2018 she completed the Hairdressing programme and she enjoyed this so much that she enrolled in the Beauty class this year to further her knowledge of hair and beauty treatments.

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Lisa found out about Trades Academy when she came to an Open Day in Year 11. “The Beauty programme really stood out to me as something I might like to do. In fact it’s actually exceeded all my expectations”. Lisa says that the professional facilities at NMIT make all the difference. “Our classroom is like a real salon."

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Paris is in the second year of the Hospitality programme, completing Level 3 unit standards as part of her NCEA Level 3 qualification. “I really enjoyed the programme when I did it last year. We had the opportunity to learn about both Front of House and cooking. This year we spend all our time in the kitchen”.

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Mikayla’s sister encouraged her to try the Trades course at NMIT and Mikayla’s really glad she did. In fact, since starting the Hospitality Year 1 course Mikayla’s been telling others at her school how good it is and that they should think about doing it themselves.

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Shayla is really enjoying her Sport & Exercise class where she puts the theory of exercise she has learnt into action. She says the course is packed with action and variety and is never boring as it relates to future job opportunities in the health and fitness area. Shayla is considering a future career as either a personal trainer or a physiotherapist and she says that the course is “real life, focused learning.”

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This is Jack’s second year of Automotive Engineering, and it’s the practical and technical aspects of the programme that he particularly enjoys.

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Ruan has recently moved to Marlborough from his homeland of South Africa. He enjoys his Trades Academy classes, meeting new people and learning new skills. Ruan has always been interested in all things mechanical and he is impressed with the machinery that he has access to on the course.

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Kayla is in her second year of the Mechanical Engineering programme, combining this with Technology studies at school and Gateway work experience in dairy farming. She says that the combination of engineering and farming goes well together. “I’m focused on gaining vocational skills and furthering my knowledge. There are workshops on the farm for all the mechanical equipment that we need and use, so there are heaps of opportunities to use all the skills I have. If something breaks on the farm, I can use my knowledge to fix it.”

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The Mechanical Engineering Trades programme has been the highlight of Karl’s Year 12. He enjoys the fact that the students do their theory work at the start of the morning and then have all the rest of the day to work on their engineering project.

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Tim has his eyes firmly set on a career in the Civil Infrastructure sector. Following in the footsteps of family members he has seen firsthand the opportunities the industry has to offer and he aspires to be a heavy machinery operator in the future.

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Dylan has been interested in the building industry for some time, taking Hard Materials at school, as well as completing smaller building projects at home. When Dylan was choosing his subjects for Year 12, the Trades Academy programme seemed like a good option for extending his knowledge and skills and finding out more about the different options and pathways into the building sector.

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