Mechanical Engineering

Hamish chose Mechanical Engineering as his goal is to become a fully qualified Fitter and Turner in the future. “What I like best about the course is all the practical skills you learn. Here at NMIT we get to set up and use all the machinery, which we can’t do at school. We learn how the different machinery is used in engineering workshops and have the opportunity to try them out for ourselves.”

Hamish is currently building a grass kart, which he’ll race with his team mates in a competition at the end of the year. “We’ve all chosen to be here at Trades, so when we’re in the workshop everyone wants to achieve and get the kart done. We’re building it from scratch so there’s a lot of thought that goes into the design and then making it happen.”

Hamish hopes to get an apprenticeship at the end of this year, but if that doesn’t happen, he’ll probably enrol at NMIT to complete a pre-Trades Engineering programme. “I’d rather be learning on the job or in a tertiary environment to get started on my engineering career.”

Motu is keen to develop his engineering skills and experience, so decided to enrol for a second year in the Mechanical Engineering Trades programme. He enjoys the process of making things and the fact that he can use all the machinery in the NMIT workshop, including the lathes and welding equipment. He’s looking forward to making and racing another grass kart this year, which is one of the highlights of the programme.

Motu really appreciates the help he’s been given by his tutor: “My tutor, Kevin, is really cool. He goes out of his way to help me, especially with the written work.” For Motu who comes from a small area school, meeting students from other schools has also been a real bonus.