Training centre students get a head start in the industry by building a 'farmer's' house Local Maori carpentry students are "hugely proud" of building their first house which has been shipped off to its new home in Maketu.
Students at various stages on the 41-week Construction Trade Training Centre course have worked on the two bedroom "farmer's residence" since last year.
Dallas Leigh Arawhata James (Ngati Whakaue), who graduated in November and is now working with a Rotorua builder, said he had helped build the home from the ground up and it had provided him with a good understanding of the basics of the building trade.
"It taught me what I needed to know in order to start off in my first job and if I hadn't had that experience I think even the smaller things would have been hard and maybe I wouldn't have been able to make a good impression."
The 21-year-old said the hands-on work, which also included building a fence and two decks, had made it easy to stay focused and see the course through to the end.