Ryan Gerrish

Ryan completed the Trades Academy Automotive programme in 2014, while a student at Nayland College. He then enrolled in the fulltime Automotive Pre-Trades course at NMIT, before gaining an apprenticeship at Houston Motors at the beginning of 2016.

Ryan has always been interested in cars and after taking Automotive as one of his school subjects he decided that Trades Academy was the next step towards achieving his goal of becoming a qualified Mechanic. Ryan says that doing Trades Academy gave him a really good insight into the industry and enabled him to further develop his skills.

He particularly enjoyed being able to spend the whole day at Trades every Friday. “Having a full day made it easier to learn; we were able to cover so much more. Enrolling for a fulltime NMIT course is quite expensive so doing Trades first meant that I got a really good idea of what to expect.”

For Ryan, the tutors at Trades Academy made a real difference: “I got along with Pete, the tutor, really well. He’s such a helpful teacher. He’ll see you through and support you all the way.”

Ryan plans to finish his apprenticeship over the next couple of years, get his trade under his belt and then may look at work overseas. He’s really grateful for the opportunities that Trades Academy, NMIT and Houston Motors have given him and would definitely recommend the Top of the South Trades Academy to other students.