Taranaki Schools Skills Bus Tour 2009

 Students from 8 secondary schools across Taranaki took a tiki tour that provided some insight into the wide range of opportunities available in local trades and industry workplaces. The first ever Taranaki ‘Skills Bus Tour', held in May, involved year 10 students literally hopping aboard a bus and travelling to worksites across New Plymouth district. 

The tour, organised through the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs initiative, set out to raise the profile of local trade and industry opportunities among Year 10 students. Groups of students undertook up to 5 site visits hosted by local companies including Clelands Construction, Methanex, Whitakers’ Civil Engineering, Fitzroy Engineering, ICL, EnergyWorks, MCK Metals and Barretts Farm. The tour focused on Oil & Gas, Engineering, Construction and Agriculture industries due to the skills shortages experienced in these sectors.

The importance of workplace safety was highlighted at every stage of the tour. All 80 students started the day at the Taranaki HSE Centre with a safety briefing and a series of practical safety exercises. Throughout the day students received appropriate safety briefings at the various sites and were provided with a range of PPE such as hard hats, ear plugs, hi-viz jackets and safety goggles.