Young Taranaki woman first female to enter Build a Bridge construction programme

Kasey Gooch, 16, steps up as the first female Build a Bridge student. Also pictured is Bronson Pierce, 16, of Francis Douglas Memorial College.

Kasey Gooch is paving the way for young Taranaki women interested in working in construction.

The 16-year-old New Plymouth Girls’ High School student is the first female to enter the Build a Bridge training, a partnership between New Plymouth District Council (NPDC), Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (WITT) Te Pūkenga and the building industry.

The programme gives teenagers valuable job skills and the option of a future in construction when they leave school.

Kasey says she’s always wanted to be involved in the construction industry.

“They need more females in the industry. I’m sure there are lots of other young women out there who are interested, but they don’t want to go into construction because it’s seen as male-dominated.”

This year, five students from different high schools are building three bridges, and the first is set to go into PG Nops Scenic Reserve in Inglewood in the next couple of weeks.

Over nine months, the students have been working on the bridges almost every Thursday, learning about design principles and how to handle the tools and materials.

NPDC group manager of planning and infrastructure Kevin Strongman says it’s good to see more diversity in the building industry.

“Women make a great contribution in construction, not just in the actual building work, but also in creating an industry culture that reflects the wider community. Our Build a Bridge programme delivers top-quality bridges for our parks and delivers first-class training in building and construction as well as health and safety for our rangatahi.”

NZ Institute of Highway Technology (NZIHT) School of Engineering, Energy and Infrastructure programme manager Jan Kivell says Build a Bridge continues to be a popular course in its third year.

“We are very lucky to have extremely experienced tutors who make the course interesting and fun. WITT Te Pūkenga is proud to be a part of a course that provides students with practical skills for the construction and infrastructure industries.”

This year, the Build a Bridge students will build new footbridges for the Waitara Orchard Reserve (Barclay Park) and an access bridge over the Wairau Stream for the Ōākura Water Treatment Plant.