Lexis Pointon and Evan Leeson were inspired to take on the new digger and scaffolding courses at Hauraki Plains College for different reasons.
For year-11 student Lexis, she hoped to one day become a qualified plumber, “so the digger experience will be helpful with drainlaying”, she said.
Meanwhile, year-13’s Evan hoped to become a qualified builder and to one day build his own house.
HPC Gateway coordinator Lauren Scott said it was the first year Hauraki Plains College offered both courses as part of the Gateway Programme.
So far the school had seen two scaffolding courses this year with 10 students in each, while the digger courses were held in Bombay and ran as three courses of four students.
“These courses opened up options for future careers [and] employment for students. We chose students where these courses aligned with their vocational pathways, i.e. building, construction and infrastructure, plumbing and mechanical engineering,” she said.
Both Lexis and Evan said the courses “boosted our confidence” and that “we can achieve anything if we’re willing”.
Ever since Lexis was young, she said she wanted to become a plumber because “there are not many female plumbers in comparison to other trades”.
She learned how to operate the digger and said she “got the hang of it straight away”.
The young learner said she learned how to scrap and how to dig trenches and could now “be more confident” when she applied for her tracks licence.
During Evan’s scaffolding course, he said he learned how to put up scaffolding and work in a team environment.
“I learnt how an onsite scaffolding team would work, the instructor explained it really well.”
He was always interested in building or following a trade because “it would set me up for life”, he said.
One key aspect was that people needed to lift equipment properly to take care of their backs, he said, but the most significant point he learned was that “good communication is key”.
Both students said the instructors were great and Evan added that the scaffolding instructor “saw potential in us” and “kept pushing” for his group to achieve higher.
It was easy to see how rewarding the Gateway programme was for the students.
“We are lucky to have the opportunity to experience different things, to give us an idea of what our pathways could be. It’s really helpful to give you a step ahead towards a goal you have,” they said.
They encouraged other students to try the courses.
“If you get the opportunity, just give it a go, any experience is [a] good experience.”
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
