Category: General News

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Having risen through the ranks of Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ), Ed Hindmarsh realised that he needed greater skills and knowledge to apply to the workplace, so he decided to study at the Tairāwhiti campus of EIT | Te Pūkenga.

It is a decision that he does not regret and now he is on the cusp of completing his Graduate Diploma in Business (Level 7). Ed is currently a Senior Station Officer at the Gisborne Fire Station in Tairāwhiti.

“I joined Fire and Emergency New Zealand in 2003, and progressively worked my way through the ranks. When I got nearer to the officer ranks, I identified that I didn’t have any formal training to lead and manage teams. I believe now, 20 years later, it’s very clear that learning and developing is critical to getting great performance for an organisation, as well as individuals and teams.”

“I have certainly benefited from my business and leadership studies throughout my career with Fire and Emergency New Zealand.”

Ed’s association with EIT|Te Pūkenga began when it was still the Tairāwhiti Polytechnic, when he enrolled in the NZ Diploma in Business. He finished this in 2014, but as the years passed by, he always wanted to go further.

“As I progressed through the ranks and got into the more senior management roles, I knew that the organisation and teams that I lead would benefit from me having greater skills and knowledge to apply to the working environment.”

“So that’s why I chose to go back. Well, I’m still there.”

With work, his young family and outside horticultural interests filling up his time, Ed fits in his study as he can. He has another five papers to do and plans to get back into it again in the new semester next year.

Despite COVID-19 disruptions, Ed has enjoyed the programme, which he says has had a strong impact on his career.

“I think one of the most critical things is to get the workplace environment as positive as we can across all facets. It’s crucial have the right knowledge, skills and attributes for managing and leading to be able to impress that. It’s identifying little issues that you can foresee occurring and then nipping them in the bud immediately so that no one even knows that there was going to be an issue. That is what success looks like in our environment.”

Forty-one year old Ed says he will not hesitate to recommend EIT | Te Pūkenga to anyone looking to further their education.

“I’d recommend the EIT School of Business to anyone that has a desire to be a manager or to be a leader of people. If one wants to be effective in leadership, or enhance their leadership potential, then I’d definitely recommend a course of study like this.”

Joanna Frame, Programme Leader in the EIT | Te Pūkenga School of Business in Tairāwhiti, says: “It has been an absolute privilege to have been a part of Ed’s academic journey.”

“The Graduate Diploma in Business is the perfect qualification for ākonga such as Ed who have significant experience at a managerial level and are wanting to enhance their knowledge in a specialised area of business.”

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

An IDEAschool ākonga (student), on the cusp of finishing her degree, has won a merit award at the Hokonui Fashion Design Awards.

Aiaikitekura Kavana says she is very proud.

“I didn’t realise I had won a Merit Award on my collection at first, and I’m flabbergasted. At my age, you feel blessed to be rewarded for your ideas.”

New Zealand’s top awards for amateur fashion designers, in its 35th year, were held in Gore at the end of July. It is widely regarded as the event where young designers showcase their talents.

Aiaikitekura didn’t attend the awards in person, instead watching online.

“I was watching it on my phone with other students. So, when I heard my name, I said, “Yay, they’re calling out all the students’ names’. It wasn’t until my tutor rang me to congratulate me. And I said to her, ‘I was wondering why everybody was sending me messages’.”

The 66-year-old is in her final year of a Bachelor of Creative Practice (Fashion) and previously graduated with a Bachelor of Creative Practice (Visual Arts & Design) in 2015.

Aiaikitekura moved to New Zealand from the Cook Islands when she was 10 years old. Her collection ‘Colonisation’ was inspired by her life experience as an immigrant living away from her homeland.

By incorporating her love of weaving and sowing, the three piece collection merges her Aitutakian heritage and her grandchildrens Scottish heritage.

Her love for fashion began on the Islands when she would spend time with her mother and other ladies in the village sewing Tivaivai (traditional Cook Island embroidered bedspreads).

Over the course of her degree, Aiaikitekura says she has fallen in love with the design process.

She is now working on a five-piece cultural collection, which will be showcased at the annual end of year EIT | Te Pūkenga IDEAschool Fashion Show in November.

This time, she is branching outside of her comfort zone.

“I’m doing things that I don’t normally do, like using lots of colour. It will be culturally based and will incorporate weaving. The theme is nature, and I am adopting the colours of the cultures close to me; Cook Island, Scottish and Māori.”

Once graduated, Aiaikitekura hopes to create community programmes for young children to learn the art of sewing and weaving.

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Tala Sogafai Utumapu, 23, has worked as an administrator of an Early Childhood centre for many years, but has always harboured the desire to qualify as an ECE teacher.

Having attempted an online programme through another provider, Tala decided EIT | Te Pūkenga was where she needed to follow her passion.

Having completed the EIT | Te Pūkenga Study and Career Preparation programme, Tala enrolled in the Level 5 Diploma in Early Childhood Education at the beginning of the year.

It was a tough start to the programme as Cyclone Gabrielle hit Hawke’s Bay, devastating the campus in Taradale.

“Because the cyclone hit, we had to push back our starting date. It did put a hold on it, and we have to do our classes online now, but they understood our situation and they managed to push us through and encourage us.”

Tala says, that while she was personally impacted by the Cyclone, EIT | Te Pūkenga was very accommodating in allowing for the disruption.

It has however, not deterred her from pursuing her education.

“Growing up, I always knew I wanted to be an early childcare teacher. It just took a while for me to fully make that commitment.”

“I decided to enrol at EIT and just that process of enrolling again made life easier. That fully helped me confirm that, yep, I’m going to become a Pasifika teacher. And I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, and it just took a while. But going through EIT, it just made the whole process easier. “

“Being in administration at an early childcare centre, it kind of also pushed me to do my studies and become what I really wanted to be.”

Tala says she first began working as an administrator for her church, King’s House Church, for about one-and-half-years volunteering, which led to her becoming an administrator at the Church’s Early Childcare Centre. She has been there for about three years.

Doing the Diploma programme has given Tala confidence.

“I know studying, it’s definitely not easy, but through the support from EIT and the teachers and even classmates, they want you to succeed. They don’t set you up to fail. They set you up to succeed, and they see your potential. So just having that, and knowing the staff has your back and is encouraging you, it just makes things easier for me.”

She is enjoying the programme so much that she plans to continue next year and transition over to the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education.

“My ultimate goal is definitely to go and do the bachelor’s. I felt like the diploma will help  me build that confidence, get into my studies, just to know the information, it sets me up to go forward in the Bachelor programme.”

Tala is still working part-time at her Church’s centre but plans to return as a teacher when she qualifies.

“I see myself, after the diploma and degree, at the centre being an early childcare teacher. I’m just really excited. I was thinking of just going to do my diploma, but I thought, no, I can do it. It’s given me that confidence and the boost to continue and complete the degree So hopefully, after everything is done, I will be at my centre, teaching and not in the office.”

Tania du Plessis, the Early Childhood Education Programme Coordinator at EIT | Te Pūkenga, said: “In our early childhood teaching programme we offer flexible options, such as enrolling in the Diploma first before moving on to the bachelor degree, just as Tala has chosen to do.”

“Our team of teacher educators are fully dedicated to your study success and you can be assured of our full support every step of the way. Our qualification is highly regarded in the wider ECE community, with experienced and passionate mentor teachers to guide you in your practical experience. Enquire today!”

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

A keen sportswoman at school, Malia Pasileia Mataele says that enrolling in the Services Pathway programme at EIT | Te Pūkenga taught her to push herself when faced with physical and mental challenges.

Pasileia, 19, who was born in Tonga and emigrated to New Zealand when she was about six, signed up for the NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparation (Services Pathway) (Level 3) at EIT | Te Pūkenga Tairāwhiti last year. She was also awarded a Te Toka Scholarship – Māori and Pasifika Trades Training, which is an initiative supporting Māori and Pasifika people into trades training programmes in Tairāwhiti.

She says she loved the programme and the scholarship was a big help to her.

“They really helped me with stuff in the background. They help you with your driver’s license, by paying for lessons and for you to get your full licence.”

She says there was also financial support as well as counselling services available to scholarship recipients.

Pasileia’s main objective in doing the Services Pathway programme was to eventually get into the New Zealand Air Force. She has applied and while her application has been put on hold while a medical condition is being assessed, she is still hopeful that she will be able to follow her dream.

However, she believes if that door does not open she does have other options available to her.

“I really like healthcare because originally my first selection for going to the Air Force was being a medic in the Air Force.”

“There is a nursing programme at EIT that I have being eyeing out. The nurse who took my medical checkup for the Air Force was an EIT student. I asked her how she liked it and she said it was her last year. I could just see the joy and passion for it that she had.”

Pasileia, who lives with her family in Gisborne, says that she has no doubt that she would recommend the Services Pathway programme to others.

“If you put in the work for yourself, you see your success. What our tutor always told us was, ‘You are here because of you. I’m here to push you all the way, but you need to put in the work yourself.’”

“I think that was quite a motivational piece. We had to do our homework. The course only ran maybe five hours a day, and so the rest of the day was up to you. Put in the homework, do more fitness. If you feel like you need to improve in the academic area, research that too.”

Whatever the future holds, Pasileia says she is looking forward to following a path that she is passionate about.

EIT | Te Pūkenga Services Pathway Tutor Zac Te Maro said the NZ Certificate in Study and Career Preparations (Services) Level 3 is designed to support students towards passing the academic and physical entry requirements to their chosen service.

“The course is also academically designed to assist students as they progress through the initial stages of their service careers. Pasileia was a natural candidate for the course, having attended a services cadet programme at high school. Pasileia is academically strong and achieved excellent marks for her course assignments.”

“She was always available to assist fellow students and is well liked by her peers. Pasileia worked hard on her physical attributes while on the course. Having personal discipline and drive to conduct physical activities away from class was hugely beneficial to her ever-improving fitness performance. Within the first two weeks of the course, she was meeting and then exceeding the fitness requirements.”

“Much so, the NZDF recruiters were “blown away” (their words) by her performance for the initial entry fitness level, remarking that no previous female candidate had attained the fitness level Pasileia had achieved. Pasileia had passed the aptitude exam and physical entry requirements for the Air Force whilst attending the course and subsequently accepted to attend initial training at Woodbourne Air Base. Two weeks prior to initial training, Pasileia attended the final fitness test which she also exceeded. With one week before leaving to Woodbourne she learnt through recruiters, that her application was on hold while a medical condition is being assessed.”

Zac said the recruiters were disappointed when learning of Pasileia’s application, as they had found an exceptional candidate for the NZ Defence Force.

“This set back will not deter Pasileia. She is a focused and determine young lady and will do exceptionally well in any vocation she chooses. “

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Encouraging students (ākonga) to action their learning outside of the classroom is the focus of new EIT | Te Pūkenga art and design tutor, Steph Barnett.

Steph, who describes herself as a “creative from day dot”, has recently joined the IDEAschool team in Tairāwhiti to teach the New Zealand Certificate in Arts and Design (Level 3 and 4) programmes.

She brings with her a personal creative practice as well as experience as an educator, including in trauma-informed education. She is now focused on giving her akonga every opportunity to develop their skills and creativity.

“I’ve always loved art. My earliest happy memories are of creating. I’ve been varied in my creative and professional practice. I would definitely say that I like new challenges, and I really like cross-disciplinary practices.”

“One of the reasons why this role specifically appealed to me was that it is wide ranging. It’s printmaking, fashion design, graphic design, photography, and fine art. Those are all things that I get excited about, and it’s a bit of a taster for emerging creatives, to find out what is working for them, before they decide to go down one path.”

She says it is important for tutors to link what they are teaching in the classroom to the wider creative world.

“We need to be creating community connections and enabling our ākonga to see themselves outside of the classroom.”

Steph has a diverse background with her work in trauma-informed education and learning te reo Māori in a full-immersion course at Te Wānanga o Raukawa.

“Trauma-informed education is another passion of mine. It is around positive social change, community change, and definitely a huge part of my teaching ethos is recognising everyone’s potential to grow and to develop. The learning pathway looks different for different people.”

“The full immersion year was super impactful for me. It really shifted my perspective. I gained a much deeper appreciation for te ao Māori, and how powerful an indigenous perspective is. I think that a Māori lens on our global issues right now holds potential for healing and regenerative practice for our whole world. Especially in relation to climate change, wealth inequality and our relationship with technology and AI” 

As for her personal artistic practice, Steph is currently working towards having her own exhibition.

“It is centred around the female experience, and in particular looks at female cycles, like our menstruation, and then how that relates to our environmental and social context.”

“I celebrate growth in my work, this comes through in native plants and flowers of Aotearoa present in most of my work.”

Steph says she is loving her new position and credits her colleagues for supporting her and ākonga for being passionate about creativity.

“They are just so wonderful. They’re so supportive of each other, and they’re very impressive artists already. I feel like I’m learning so much from them.”

“They are comfortable with experimenting, pushing different ideas, dreaming big, and really aiming for a high standard in their work. They are also really open to trying new opportunities and saying yes.”

The Acting Head of IDEAschool, Sue Blackmore, said: “IDEAschool welcomes Steph to the team. She is a fantastic asset to EIT | Te Pūkenga, bringing with her a wealth of experience and strong relationships within the Tairāwhiti creative community.”

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti

Alena Kamper, a graduate of the Viticulture & Wine Science Concurrent Degree at EIT | Te Pūkenga, is the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey North Island Young Winemaker of the Year, following the competition held at Indevin’s Gimblett Gravels winery.

Not only did Alena, 22, who now works at Sacred Hill Winery, win the competition, but Casey Mackintosh, a current Bachelor of Viticulture & Wine Science  student came second.

Alena said she had been nervous to enter the competition, which made the win unexpected.

“I had heard great things about the competition and that it was a great way to make connections in the industry and to really challenge yourself.”

“At first I didn’t feel ready because I was quite new into the industry. It’s going to be my first year of full-time work. And then what got me over the line to apply was people were saying, it’s really a great place to learn and see what you don’t know.”

“They were talking about how they regretted not entering and so that made it seem less intimidating, which is what pushed me to apply.”

To win the competition, Alena had to prove her skills in a range of tasks from blending, wine market knowledge, cellar skills, wine tasting and an interview.

The awards dinner was held at Brookfields Winery where the contestants delivered their Fruitfed speeches, which focused on hot topics for the wine industry. Alena says her speech was on Hawke’s Bay neeing a new varietal to entice new age wine drinkers.

“it was a super cool topic. I really enjoyed writing that. I had a lot of fun with the speech. I was quite happy with the topic I got.”

For her efforts Alena won $1,000 cash, premium wines, a Dale Carnegie leadership course and an educational trip sponsored by Fruitfed Supplies. This trip will take place early next year.

Alena now goes on to represent the North Island in the National Final of the 2023 Tonnellerie de Mercurey NZ Young Winemaker of the Year on 31 October at The Bone Line in Waipara, North Canterbury.

She says she is looking forward to the national competition, but realises it will be a step up.

Alena looks back at her time at EIT | Te Pūkenga with fondness, saying the programme was recommended to her by an old science teacher of hers at the school she attended, Sacred Heart College.

“I always loved science and did really well in that area at school. When I was about to leave high school, I was unsure of what I wanted to do. I wanted it to be science-based, but I didn’t want that to be the core of the degree. So when the teacher recommended the course, I signed up for it.”

“I was lacking knowledge in  wine and experience in wine but I loved it and I never looked back. I was really happy I made that decision.”

She says she loved the degree and was pleased that the lecturers gave one-on-one help to students.

“Some of our lecturers were from the industry, so they were teaching us real-life wine industry related content..”

“I think it was a really good, well-rounded degree and I think it was really easy to ask for help and receive help, which made it feel a little bit less intimidating when we’re going into study.”

Alena finished her degree last year, but only graduated this year because of Cyclone Gabrielle delays.

She wasted no time in getting employment in the industry. She did two vintages at Villa Maria and then got an opportunity to do one at Sacred Hill, where she was offered a permanent role as a cellar hand.

Sue Blackmore, the Head of the School of Viticulture and Wine Science at EIT | Te Pūkenga, said: “The Viticulture and Wine Science School congratulate Elena on both her success in the Young Winemaker but also forging ahead with her career in the Wine world. We aim to assist our graduates to find their feet quickly and find exciting career paths in an exciting NZ industry.”