Helping young people Earn as you Learn
We’re delighted to be supporting a new pilot programme to give high school leavers hands-on experience at our production site, while they earn a qualification in manufacturing.
Earn as you Learn is a collaboration between industry group Advancing Manufacturing Aotearoa and Waikato’s leading manufacturers (including Gallagher) to help bridge the gap between formal education and practical experience.
Through the programme, students will spend two days each week in formal education at WINTEC’s Rotokauri Campus in Hamilton, and three days a week learning on-the-job with manufacturing businesses.
Over the 30-week course, the students will rotate through three different companies, getting diverse experiences, while earning a wage.
At the end of the course, students will graduate with a NZ Certificate in Manufacturing Level 3, and a heap of experience to help them secure their first full-time role.
Gallagher has four Earn as you Learn students.
Mia Duffin and Joshua Rule have joined us as school leavers and will do two semester-long rotations with Gallagher and the third with another Waikato manufacturer.
Stevie Knox and Te Arai (Tee) Taylor are experienced senior production team members at Gallagher. Their role in the programme is two-fold – they will gain the benefits of the learning and resulting qualification and will also play an important role in assessing this course and contributing to future development programmes for our manufacturing teams.
Stevie and Tee will do all three of their rotations at Gallagher and once the course is completed return to their roles.
Global People Lead Christina Ogg says our involvement in this programme ticks a number of boxes.
“It enables us to upskill our own team members and help them get a qualification at the end of their study. And, on a broader scale, we want to generate enthusiasm amongst school leavers for the range of career paths in manufacturing. It’s all about growing the pipeline of manufacturing talent in New Zealand.”
In announcing the programme, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Chris Penk referenced the important role manufacturing plays in New Zealand’s ecosystem.
“Manufacturing is a powerful economic player, contributing about 8.4 percent of New Zealand’s GDP and employing 10 percent of our workforce – but businesses are telling us skill shortages are curbing productivity.
“Manufacturing can supercharge our economic growth and strengthen our competitive edge on the world stage, if the sector is given the right support to thrive and increase its exports.”
Gallagher is proud to be playing our part as a leading manufacturer and supporting young people to enter and thrive in the sector.