Kamo High School student on vocational pathway wins award

Conor Peachy and Patsy Yearbury in front of the Gateway board which promotes vocational pathways at Kamo High School. Photo / Brodie Stone

The Prime Minister's Vocational Excellence Award was launched in 2019, with an aim to celebrate students who demonstrate vocational excellence, in turn raising the status of vocational education.

Conor Peachy is one of 20 recipients in Northland this year, and he has been on a pathway to success in his chosen field, alongside the help of Kamo High School Gateway co-ordinator Patsy Yearbury.

As part of the award, Peachy received a certificate and a $2000 cash prize. He has spent it on equipment that will be needed for his first year in fulltime employment.

"It's good because I haven't had to use all my saved up money to get something," he said.

While receiving experience with Untamed Pest Control's Shaun Gifford, Peachy has also gained his restricted licence, health and safety training, first aid certificates and participated in Project Pest Control, a course alongside Northland Regional Council.

He said the Gateway programme has been 'beneficial' to him, and allowed him to pursue something within his interests of being outdoors.

"I do hunting anyway so I'm interested in the outdoors and I thought it would be a good idea to get to know more people, go different places and just to help New Zealand in general," he said.

According to Education Minister Chris Hipkins, the Prime Minister's Vocational Excellence Award has been given to 70 students in Northland over the past three years.

The award aims to ensure that secondary school students are aware of vocational pathways and the opportunities they bring.

Hipkins told the Advocate he is a keen supporter of those choosing vocational pathways.

"I am really passionate about supporting pathways into vocational education because they open up a world of opportunity both for young people to train and for adults to retrain throughout their lives.

"Vocational training is about getting practical life skills that can help you get a job in a particular industry, or give you base skills to work across industries," said Hipkins.

There has been some growth in recent years in the vocational sector.

Hipkins also highlighted the numbers in Northland, stating, "The Te Tai Tokerau Trades Academy, for example, has seen steadily increasing rolls from 2018 to 2022, increasing from 440 (2018) to 708 (June 2022)."

Schools across the country remain crucial to vocational education, and the Reform of Vocational Education (also known as RoVE) has included changes to NZQA, which will take place from next year.

Skill standards and qualifications will be developed in collaboration with industry and education providers with the approval of NZQA.

The aim is to create a space where learners are able to receive further support while training, move easier between regions and providers, and continue training if their employment situation should change.

Patsy Yearbury, co-ordinator of the Gateway programme at Kamo High School, said the school is funded for 65 students per year to participate in the programme.

"We always get huge amounts of applications," she said, "I want them all to do it, to be honest."

Conor with other participants of the Project Pest Control course. Photo / Supplied

Yearbury, who has been in her role for five years, said 65 students is a number that is manageable for her, but hopes more funding would enable extra staff, office space and resources to provide a larger programme to reach more pupils.

"I would just encourage anyone and everyone to get out there and try before you buy," she said, "these kids now just need to tap into the opportunities that are out there. They're there for the taking, go for it."

Peachy agrees.

"You need to try different things; you need to figure out what you enjoy the most," he said. "Maybe there's something that you've heard of before that's interesting but you haven't already considered it."