Editorial: Students get to learn on the job

What a brilliant idea.

Waiariki Institute of Technology's carpentry and electrical students will be involved in the building of five houses which will be sold at auction with money raised going to local charities.

They'll build a house a year over the next five years as part of the Charity House Project.

Many will agree that learning on the job can be highly effective, and with this project the students get the best of both worlds, taking on a major task while remaining within the learning environment.

Plus it's a win for the community, with charities benefiting from the house sales.

Waiariki has partnered with the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce, which is encouraging backing from local businesses for the project.

It would be good to see it get the support it deserves.

It's also great to see some other good news on the housing front - with increased activity in the Rotorua real-estate market and the highest median sale price since mid-2010.

Not only is the number of house sales steady, but the number of days to sell has dropped from 62 in February to 47 last month.

And while the rise in median price reflects the national situation, Rotorua has bucked the Waikato-Bay of Plenty drop in median sale price.

So what does it mean? Exciting things, says industry spokesman Ian McDowell.

He's not wrong - the extra money and activity can only be good for the local economy as a whole.

Here's hoping this level of activity continues.

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