KEY POINTS:
THE QUALIFICATION
What: National Certificate in Plastics Processing Technology (Rotational Moulding) Level 1-4
Where: Plastics and Materials Processing Industry Training Organisation (PaMPITO)
Phone: (09) 263-6098
Email: info@pampito.org.nz
Web: www.pampito.org.nz
Course costs: $1550-$7000 per year
Starting salary: Newly qualified, $35,000-$40,000
Qualified plastics technicians are in very high demand at present as the industry
is growing and the workforce is aging.
Many plastic products around us - kayaks, boats, water tanks, rubbish bins - are created through a rotational moulding process.
Plastic processing technicians train in the rotational moulding process through PaMPITO. Off-job training is delivered by Manukau Institute of Technology in the North Island, and Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology in the South Island.
The first year consists of distance learning through Industry Training & Technology Ltd (ITAT).
The National Certificate in Plastics Processing Technology (Rotational Moulding) Level 4 includes a combination of on-job training, block courses and personal study.
The two-week block courses run twice a year and the certificate takes around four years to complete.
Topics covered include; plastic production processes, materials, properties and applications. The set-up, operation and maintenance of moulding equipment is taught, along with production, optimisation and control.
Trainees also learn about engineering drawing, measurement, materials and hand tools. Communications skills and teamwork are emphasised.
In the workplace, trainees practice their knowledge of rotational moulding machine operations and troubleshooting, as well as quality assurance and quality control.
They work on machine and mould maintenance, mould design and construction, and preparation and selection of raw materials.
To enter a plastics industry apprenticeship, trainees need NCEA Level 2 maths, physics and/or chemistry or the equivalent.
It helps to have an interest in mechanical engineering, whether through qualifications or personal interests, such as working on your own car.
Qualified technicians enter jobs in production supervision and management, quality management and technical management.
THE GRADUATE
Simon Kebblewhite, 24
Nightshift supervisor for rotational moulding processing at Johnson Outdoors Watercraft Ltd.
I've been here four years. We make kayaks using a rotational moulding process.
Rotational moulding is simple but there is science behind it.
Powder goes in the mould which goes in the oven where it rotates.
The powder follows gravity and turns to liquid, so in the end everything inside the mould is coated.
We have three boats going at any one time. One is cooking, one cooling, and one is getting loaded [prepared].
I have to ensure everything on the list is done to the standard required.
I took this job because I wanted to try something different after working for three years with a plastic fabricator.
It isn't the kayaks that interest me but the plastic. It is an interesting material and so much is made out of it.
I started here as a factory worker but I wanted a qualification to show what I could do.
I'm now in my last year of the apprenticeship. The first year was distance learning but since then I've attended block courses at MIT where we cover a lot of engineering and management techniques.
Only five of us are doing the plastics [strand] of the apprenticeship.
Long term I hope to get more supervisory work, and eventually go into a managerial role.
I'm also interested in the chemical side, working in a factory making the powder and doing testing.
My horizons have definitely widened through doing the apprenticeship.
THE EMPLOYER
Regan Ashton
Production Manager of Johnson Outdoors Watercraft Ltd
They started making roto-moulded kayaks in New Zealand in 1992. We're now the largest rotational moulder of kayaks in Australasia and have 30 guys working on two shifts, day and night, with the capacity to produce 12,000 per year. Simon was working on the floor when he approached us, saying he wanted to further his career and learn about the technical aspects. We had a look and it sounded good, so we agreed. He is the first person from here to have gone through it.
He has learned a wealth of information that he wouldn't have learned internally. There is a reasonable amount of engineering in the apprenticeship and he now has thorough knowledge of the processes and materials. This knowledge is showing in his work. Simon is now acting nightshift supervisor. This includes quality control checks of the boats, and making adjustments to the running of the machine after his checks. He has to deal with problems that pop up. If he can't fix them, he has to give me or the engineer an explanation of the problem. His knowledge saves us times.