The Trades Facilitator role is evolving quite quickly, the primary focus is to promote the trades and improve communication between employers, schools, students, their parents or caregivers.

We visited three established Facilitator operations with different demographics and needs in Otorohanga, Manawatu & Masterton.  All have been operating for some time and have benefited from trial and error, this helped identify the most effective way to deliver services to their areas.   We wanted to know what they did, how they did it and how they settled on the best way to promote trades and employment in their area.  They all did something simple by going to the students and asked what they wanted more information on and the best way to deliver it.  Expo days, Graduation Evenings, site visits and trade training courses have formed the core of their deliveries.  They all incorporate other support services, one in particular supports school leavers without employment or not engaged in further tertiary education. We are preparing a questionnaire with careers advisors for our Schools regarding their perception of trades as a career path.

The shortage of Trades people and their increasing age is well known, and was highlighted during our last period of economic growth and will continue to be an issue in the future.  New Zealand business needs to increase the amount of people training in trades just to maintain the present economy, let alone future economic growth.

Increased trade training will help relieve our growing dependence on overseas labour.  The available employment opportunities should where ever possible focused on our own young people.  Unfortunately this does not help our immediate shortage of qualified trade’s people.  New Zealand’s shortage of trained trade personnel makes the trades a very good career option for young New Zealanders.

Asking business to pick up the ball and employ more apprentices is a small part of the answer, we need to ask what employers require as pre trade apprenticeship skills.  A greater focus may need to be directed at these skills and train the young people accordingly.  While it is not possible to teach the students everything on the pre employment courses, it’s also unrealistic to expect them to know everything either, that is part of the apprenticeship and skill base of the trade itself.

Students need to understand higher academic standard are required to keep pace with rapidly changing technology in the trades.  Low English, mathematics and computer skills compound pressure on the apprentice, this reflects on their work attitude and performance or a worst case scenario an apprentice drops out.

The resulting youth employment growth in the areas we visited is proof, better communication between the parties increased understanding, improved common ground with positive results for all the parties using the existing system.

Business confidence is another key issue and absolutely vital for employers considering taking on apprentices in the first place.

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