The OTHC Technology Faculty Trades Evening was held recently and was declared a success by all who attended. This evening is to connect students and families with representatives from the various trades to obtain information about the opportunities available for students wanting to make trade a career. It’s also an opportunity for parents to meet the college’s trades partners and find out about the Gateway Programme. It is available for students to gain experience working as a tradesperson and help them acquire more knowledge from within the industry by working with selected companies.  This year representatives from BCITO, Mito, Etco- apprenticeship providers, Jobs & Skills Hubs and many more attended. One of the trade partners, Paslode Nail Gun, brought their truck which featured a nail gun booth where people could try out the different nail guns. This was a great evening, as it gave parents and students the chance to talk to a variety of people from the trade industry about their child becoming a tradesperson. For the first time, Year 13 students from the previous year come back to share their experiences of being an apprentice with our current students – this was well received and hugely beneficial. 

The students found the evening very informative with one student, Lukas Aurupa, commenting, “I found the evening pretty interesting finding out about the job opportunities available and what’s involved in getting a trade.” Cole Kake added, “I found the evening informative and worthwhile as we were able to start building connections with the people in the industry.” The many parents who attended also enjoyed the evening with one commenting, “The evening was a great opportunity to find out what our son was doing at school and find out about the pathways open for him to gain a trade”. Technology teacher Ms Mckeon, who helped organise this event said, "Seeing our Year 13 students from 2022 return to school in their trade uniforms and sharing their experiences with our current students was magic. Our current students mentioned that the fears they had were put to rest after speaking with the past students".  Well done Ms Mckeon and the Technology Faculty for organising such a great evening.

SALIHA NURI - NEWS MEDIA TEAM