What's cooking in NZ's work-training kitchen

By MATHEW DEARNALEY

Joseph Tahaafe and his mother, Lily Makoni, spend long working hours cooking up culinary delights for patrons of the Sky City casino restaurants.

But on Sundays, after church, they like to unwind by dining on Joseph's favourite dish - scrambled eggs and tomato sauce.

Yesterday was a proud day for Mrs Makoni, a chef at Sky City for almost two years, as it marked the formal start of her 18-year-old son's career under the Government-sponsored modern apprenticeship scheme.

He and Elliot Hammond, also 18, signed documents with Social Services and Employment Minister Steve Maharey to become the hospitality industry's first apprentices.

Sky City executive chef Warren Bias said that both were hired as kitchen hands, but were later hand-picked for three years of on- and off-the-job training because of their positive attitudes and passion for their work.

They are among 500 young people, aged mainly between 16 and 21, being lined up for the pilot phase of the apprenticeship scheme in industries ranging from agriculture and wool-handling to engineering and telecommunications.

Brokers receive $2000 of Government money annually to coordinate each apprenticeship.

The employers are left to provide the wages and work-based, mentored training.

The Government hopes this will ease the way for more employers to provide training, and sign up 3000 apprentices by 2002.

Sky City's food and beverage manager, Terry Hilsz, said that apprenticeships, despite losing ground in recent years to training based in tertiary institutions, had always been part of the New Zealand way of life.

"This is about reactivating something that in the past was very successful," he said.

Not that his two new apprentices, soon to be joined by four others, will be totally clear of formal classes.

They will do part of their training off the job under the stewardship of the Manukau Institute of Technology, part of a consortium of four polytechs appointed by the Government as modern apprenticeship coordinators.

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