Training centre for electrical apprentices opening in Hawke's Bay

From left to right: ETCO apprentice co-ordinator Harry McCulloch with electrical apprentices Nick Morgan, Oliver van Kampen, and Jaden Moffitt, at a training centre in Onekawa. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay electrical apprentices will no longer have to travel to complete their block courses with a new Napier training centre possibly opening soon.

The Electrical Training Company (Etco) is awaiting building consent to fit out a building in the Onekawa industrial area for use as a purpose-built training centre.

Etco is New Zealand's largest provider of electrical training and apprentices, employing more than 900 electrical engineering apprentices and providing free off-job training through night classes, block courses and placement with host companies for on-job training.

Etco gained resource consent to use a building in the Onekawa industrial zone for educational purposes.

Lindsay John, Etco's Central North Regional Manager, said Etco hopes to open the new training centre in September.

It will include classroom facilities and a workshop fitted out with state-of-the-art equipment.

John said that with a new facility based within the region, Etco apprentices in Hawke's Bay would no longer have to travel to Etco's Rotorua training centre for block courses.

"The centre will be a great benefit to apprentices in terms of time and costs around accommodation. Electrical apprentices studying with Etco will be able to do their block courses in Hawke's Bay rather than having to spend time away from home. It will also ensure they are working with cutting-edge training equipment and technology."

With a new facility based within the region, Hawke's Bay Etco apprentices would no longer have to travel to Etco's Rotorua training centre for block courses. Photo / Paul Taylor

Etco will offer a range of continuing professional development (CPD) programmes for registered electricians from the centre, including a master electricians competency course and the electrical inspector training programme.

"The growth of industry in Hawke's Bay has led to increased demand for further industry training," John said.

"We will be meeting that with a 'smorgasbord' of CPD programmes."

John said there was high demand for apprentices in Hawke's Bay.

"You just can't get enough apprentices in the industry at the moment, it's crazy, we've got places we can't fill."

He said another major reason they have decided to open a training centre in Napier was to also offer a pre-trade course that could fill gaps for aspiring apprentices that didn't have the right level 3 credits after leaving school to begin a level 4 apprenticeship.

Harry McCulloch, Etco apprenticeship co-ordinator based in Napier, said the new training centre would finally give him and the Hawke's Bay apprentices a 'home' in the area.

"At the moment we are using a school, so it is not as if they can go to the school any time and have a meeting or anything along those lines," McCulloch said.

"We can have meetings, discussions, we can arrange things for the apprentices a lot easier, like training nights or study nights."

Apprentices Oliver van Kampen, Nick Morgan and Jaden Moffitt will be among those who get to enjoy the facility when it become usable this year and have been helping set up lighting for the building in the meanwhile.

They said not having to travel to Rotorua annually for block courses would be a huge benefit for them in terms of convenience.

"I've only had one course over in Rotorua, so I don't have much experience going over there, but just having it closer is a bit easier," Moffitt said.

"It'll be cool to see what it will look like when it is finished"

The new Napier facility will become Etco's fourth designated training centre in the central North Island.

New centres have been opened in Hamilton and Tauranga, and the Rotorua centre has been relocated and refitted.