Whanganui’s Port Employment Precinct offering students civil infrastructure training

Students take a tour of Q-West Boat Builders with Q-West's Colin Mitchell (right) and 100% Sweet's Ron Armstrong (left).

A programme designed to “fill a gap in the market” is giving Whanganui students a taste of life in the civil infrastructure sector.

The Port Employment Precinct’s (PEP) pilot pre-trade programme lasts for 16 weeks and focuses on the city’s port revitalisation project - Te Pūwaha.

Whanganui-based Axiom Training is in charge for the first three months, with year 12 and 13 students covering activities including forklift driving, loading and unloading a goods vehicle, and using a safety harness when working at heights.

In the remaining four weeks, they visit local businesses, create CVs and learn about Te Awa Tupua (the 2017 Whanganui River legislation) and Te Pūwaha.

Port Employment Precinct business pathways activator Seletar Taputoro said the programme was established to fill a gap in the market.

“Schools are providing programmes in agriculture, building and even the likes of hairdressing, however, civil infrastructure was being missed,” Taputoro said.

“Heads Road is the industrial heart of our city and when you talk to those businesses, they are crying out for new employees, and yet are struggling to find candidates with suitable qualifications.

“On top of that, with the advent of such a large construction project like the port development, it became clear there are not enough young people being exposed to this type of industry.”

The aim of the programme was to bring through skilled, passionate and informed young people who were ready to hit the ground running, Taputoro said.

“Our goal is to give them practical skills, setting them up for potential future careers and pathways, making them incredibly employable, whether it’s a weekend job while still at school, or their first fulltime job when they leave.

“Visiting businesses like Q-West is the icing on the cake, they can explore related industries and realise that the training they are doing right now will set them up for further career pathways and opportunities.”

The course, funded by the PEP, is specifically designed for youth based in Castlecliff aged over 16, with students from Te Kura o Kokohuia, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Tupoho, Whanganui City College and Cullinane College currently halfway through.

One of their latest activities was visiting Q-West Boat Builders and observing its team in action first-hand.

Te Pūwaha project director Hayden Turoa said he felt the timing of the programme “couldn’t be better” as the wharf rebuild was set to get underway in the next few months.

“The purpose of Te Pūwaha is to create abundance, abundance for Mauri Ora, Mauri Awa and Mauri Tangata - our environment, our awa and the communities of Te Awa Tupua,” Turoa said.

“The pilot pre-trade programme is a practical implication of this, as it has a special focus on working with these rangatahi [youth] to enrich not only their lives but also of their whānau, now and in the future.

“The PEP is providing them opportunities and choices that in many cases, they previously haven’t been exposed to.”

Funding is currently being sourced for the course to return in 2024.

The PEP was established after charitable trust Whanganui District Employment Training Trust (WDETT) secured a $1.5 million grant from the Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) in 2020.

Te Pūwaha is a partnership between Whanganui hapū and iwi and the Whanganui District Council, the Horizons Regional Council, Q-West Boat Builders and WDETT.