Employer Partnership

When John Kotoisuva knocked on the door of Metal Skills Ltd in East Tamaki, Factory Manager Phillip Ward was more than interested. “From past experience, hiring young people wasn’t that successful overall,” says Phillip. “For many of them it was the first job and the first chance to earn some money. But that opportunity was too often wasted and it wouldn’t be long before some wouldn’t even turn up for work. So when John came along and told me about the trade programmes Oceania Careers Academy was running, it seemed like a great idea for us.” What John proposed involved mentoring [...]

Finding good, reliable builder apprentices has sometimes been a challenge for NR Developments Director Nathan Robertson, who has been in the business since leaving school. “It used to be that I could go through dozens of guys before I found a good one,” he says. “But OCA has helped start to change that. They provide people who have an understanding of what the industry is all about and what’s expected from them in areas like turning up to work on time and ready to put in a good shift.” Having been a builder himself from the age of 16, [...]