This month, 750 students and teachers joined the Got a Trade? Got it Made! Big Bus Tours 2016 across Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, and Christchurch. They visited 50 workplaces, including print, packaging and signage shops to see what trades and services careers and on-the-job learning is all about. Andrew Robertson, chair of Got a Trade, says, “We wanted to promote the many opportunities that exist for on-the-job learning and apprenticeships, across as many sectors as we could, in one day.”
Got it made: Epsom Girls Grammar students visit the NZME printing operation in Ellerslie, Auckland
The Big Bus Tours form part of Got a Trade’s campaign response to the growing need for more young people to enter trades and services roles across New Zealand. Across the board, industries will need more new people entering year on year. Estimates include more than 2,600 new people for aged care; close to 5000 for construction and infrastructure; mechanical and automotive engineering, 5,600 and 11,200 respectively; and by 2020 19600 for civil engineering; and 40,000 for manufacturing, which includes print, packaging and sign making. Robertson says, “There’s no doubt that there are great opportunities out there for young New Zealanders but students can’t choose a career they cannot see. The Big Bus Tours really opened their eyes to the full range of opportunities available across Got a Trade’s 140+ industries.†Got a Trade, a collaboration of eight industry training organisations including BCITO, Careerforce, Competenz, Connexis, HITO, MITO, ServiceIQ, and The Skills Organisation, represents more than 140 industries. The second annual Got a Trade Week, celebrating those making headway in their trades and services careers, runs from August 22-26 Click here for more information
