Growing up around trucks, Cassidy Moreton always knew he would work with them in the family business, so doing an apprenticeship to gain a qualification just made sense.
“It would be silly not to,” says the 22-year-old from Wakefield who now has a New Zealand Certificate in Heavy Automotive Engineering for road transport.
He is one of dozens of local apprentices working towards a qualification, and NMIT apprenticeship coordinator Barry Paterson expects more as the economy picks up.
Contrary to the perception that apprenticeship numbers have declined in recent years, he says they have generally remained strong. The only exception was the past year when numbers dipped slightly as prospective employers felt the effects of the recession.
“But employers are starting to get busy. Mortgage rates coming down means money is freeing up a bit.”
While most apprentices are fresh out of school, Barry says adults are also viewing apprenticeships as a pathway to gaining qualifications.
“We had a 40-year-old joiner who qualified in automotive and has bought his own business. There’s lots of success stories. They might start off with a career and then switch into owning a business.”
Most of the apprentices are young men, but he says more women are also joining the trades through apprenticeships.
“They’ll do everything from auto electrical work to heavy vehicles – and they’re often very successful because they have great attention to detail.”
Cassidy’s interest in automotive work was sparked as a teenager when he borrowed tools from the business to work on cars. At 17, leaving school to pursue that passion was a natural next step.
“It’s the best thing – working with things and fixing them.”
Now qualified, he’s heading to Western Australia to earn money working on heavy machinery in the mining industry – with plans to return home.
Last month, NMIT automotive tutor Peter Kristofski presented Cassidy with a young totara tree alongside his certificate, as a symbol of Cassidy’s growth.
“I give a totara tree because a seedling needs something supporting it over its journey and I liken it to apprentices like Cassidy.”
