"It's about ensuring our young people are ready to enter the workforce," says Taranaki Electricity Trust chairman Brian Jeffares of the decision to fund NZQA Food Handling Unit 167 for local secondary students.
Brian says the trust was re-evaluating the funding for education purposes and the new provisions to the Stratford District Council Food Safety policy created an opportunity.
"With the policy requiring higher ratios of staff with the food-handling qualification it raised questions about still being able to hire student workers." Brian was approached by Cr Kelvin Squire to see whether the TET could offer funding to see secondary school students qualify.
"This means students will be able to maintain after-school and holiday jobs in the food industry," Brian says.
The two-day course will be run through Feats education centre and facilitated by chef Peter Meikle of The Balcony Restaurant.
