Combined graduation celebrates Central Hawke's Bay success

Some of the graduates who completed the NZ Certificate in Te Reo Me nga Tikanga, Level 4.

More than 125 graduates were recognised at a ceremony hosted by CHB mayor Alex Walker at the Civic Theatre in Waipukurau last week.

Eastern Institute of Technology, Central Hawke's Bay District Council and the Mayor's Taskforce for Jobs joined to celebrate local success in this first combined event for the district.

The Mayor's Taskforce for Jobs runs industry training graduations to recognise the achievements of recent graduates and provide an opportunity for the trainees and apprentices to celebrate with their families, friends and employers.

More than 100 graduates of EIT certificate programmes were also recognised in front of families, friends, tutors and EIT staff.

"We were delighted to help create a combined celebration for all the students to acknowledge their successes. Even with a power cut, the evening was a great event. It was certainly memorable to see the mass of cellphones providing light," said Sandra Fleming, EIT Central Hawke's Bay Learning Centre co-ordinator.

"Our EIT Learning Centre in Waipukurau is a great asset to our community and provides people with access to further education."

Walker commented: "The graduation is a time for celebration as well an opportunity to say thank you to local employers for their ongoing commitment to youth and training.

"We're delighted to partner with EIT this year. It's enabled a wider group of CHB graduates to be recognised for their achievements".

A further 25 industry trainees and apprentices were also recognised at the ceremony. They graduated from the scheme that had 12 local employers and five industry training organisations involved.

The guest speaker was Dale Williams, a former Otorohanga mayor who set up the first Mayoral Taskforce for Jobs programme. It successfully took unemployment among people under 25 to zero in his district by motivating local businesses to employ and train young people.

This model has since been used around the country and Central Hawke's Bay set up its own Mayoral Taskforce for Jobs in 2012.