Supported Learning students build confidence with Trades experience (check out the video)

Earlier this year, two ākonga  from Supported Learning: Finn Penny and Brennan Nicholls, wanted to gain work experience in Trades.

As part of their second year of study, all ākonga on the New Zealand Certificate in Skills for Living and Working participate in a course called Work-Based Learning where they gain practical experience in a workplace. The ākonga  and lecturers work together to find a field that is meaningful and suitably challenging to the student. Sometimes this is off-campus and, when appropriate, the ākonga  are placed on campus.

However, companies are often hesitant to take on Supported Learning ākonga  at work placements and jobs citing Health and Safety reasons, says Supported Learning APM Dave Hicks.

Finn gets to work on the tools

“One of our key objectives is to equip our ākonga with experiences and placements that would mitigate this issue and prevent any potential employers from citing health and safety as an issue.”

Finn and Brennan were interested in various aspects of trades, and the carpentry team, including Lecturer Eugene Nehring, was able to provide a foot in the door.

“It was an amazing experience working on a Kainga Ora house build, where they can develop their work skills. It was a wonderful experience for the boys. They were made to feel as part of the team. Eugene was simply amazing at explaining things to the boys, keeping them involved and finding skill-appropriate tasks,” says Dave.

“I have observed newfound confidence in both Brennan and Fin, especially in Brennan who has grown leaps and bounds in confidence. Finn showed great resilience  and endurance in all weather conditions (his mum said to me he has not really been able to work outdoors in the wet and cold prior to this) and sticking to the task even when it was physically very challenging.”

Brennan getting the measurements right

Finn says he worked well in the construction environment. “I liked hammering, handling wood, wrenching and measuring. Eugene is a nice man. We learned how to build things, like building with Lego and model kits that I built before. But now I built a house with carpentry. It made me feel happy.”

Brennan agreed, saying it was a great and enjoyable experience.

“The opportunity working with the Carpentry team will ensure that these boys will never again be looked at as a health and safety liability at any workplace,” says Dave.

Thank you for all your mahi and mana and aroha!