2012 is shaping up to being another active year with the Applied Trades centre in full swing now. The students are demonstrating their appreciation of the new facilities by producing high standard projects in both Engineering and Fine furniture. The Automotive students are also benefiting from their top class facilities.

In 2004, we ran a couple of Automotive and Engineering open days catering for upwards of 300 students and industry representatives on each occasion. These open days enrich the link between schools and industry, providing much needed apprentices for the New Zealand trade areas. This year, more open days are planned in Engineering, Construction and Automotive. Because of the growing interest in these days, the venue is now to be at Ericsson Stadium.

The CAD suite is used extensively with the introduction of double option lines for both Engineering & Fabrication and also Building & Furniture. These courses are now offering industrial unit standard in Trade Drawing and Communication.

The junior technology levels are running well with the revamp of projects for 2012. We are actively trying to up skill students at this level to have a better understanding of trade requirements for when they get to the senior levels.