Construction experience builds community connections

Hornby High School students visiting a Kāinga Ora development built by local firm Miles Construction.

Starting in January 2023, Sam Tisch ran a programme aimed at familiarising his Year 12 technology students with the multifaceted world of trades. He achieved this in collaboration with Kāinga Ora and Miles Construction, allowing his classes supervised access to a nearby construction site. 

“It was a big opportunity for our senior technology and hard materials students to get a deeper understanding of what’s involved in the construction process,” says Sam. 

The site was a Kāinga Ora development built by local firm Miles Construction. It involved the demolition of buildings and the construction of 10 new multi-unit state houses. Students had access to the site during each construction stage, something Sam says was essential to their understanding of the house-building process and the diversity of trades required.

Hornby High School students visiting a Kāinga Ora development built by local firm Miles Construction.

“Traditionally, when students think of trades they think of building,” says Sam. “Of course, there are literally hundreds of trades that are involved with building a house.

“We’re trying to expose them to a broad range of potential trades that they can get involved in beyond school.”

First-hand experience

Students like Aisa found the programme eye opening and well-suited to her learning style. 

“I want to learn, and I am a visual learner,” she says, “It was interesting seeing the process.” 

Aisa says that the programme sparked a desire to learn more about concreting and scaffolding, aspects of the building process that she previously knew little about. 

Beyond exposing students to the variety of trades and broadening their knowledge of the construction process, Sam is also eager to connect students with sector professionals. 

When they visit the site, students are accompanied by the site manager and project manager, both of whom guide students, explaining technicalities and answering questions. 

These connections had a positive effect on Year 12 hard materials student Neihana, who says, “It made me think about being a builder. That atmosphere on site was warm and welcoming.

Students are accompanied by the site manager and project manager.

“[Construction] gives people a house over their heads. I’m all about giving people a house to live in, I like knowing that I have helped someone.”

So far, Sam has noticed similarly positive responses from the classes that have visited the site. 

“There’s been a lot of interest in a broader range of trades,” he says. “Students are now interested in roofing, a couple have talked about foundation construction, and a couple have expressed interest in being electricians.

“Often, in school, we talk about construction. But without firsthand experience it’s hard to know what it’s actually like. Getting that experience exposes students to what the job involves day to day, and whether they’d like to do that or try something else.”

Making connections

Sam encourages all schools and kura across Aotearoa to contact local construction companies or Kāinga Ora to see what opportunities are available for their technology students. In his case, Hornby High’s students were able to easily access the construction site without many changes to their timetables. 

“It’s down the road, literally. I imagine that, if it was across town, that would be a much bigger potential issue [for other schools],” says Sam. 

Beyond this, however, Sam foresees few other obstacles for more schools to start similar initiatives. 

“Miles Construction has been extremely accommodating. Obviously, construction sites are a dangerous place for people to be on. But they have been very supportive with managing health and safety and making sure we’re catered for onsite ... we have everything we need.”

Mark Farrell, CEO of Miles Construction, is excited to see rangatahi engaging with the industry. 

“As we were working close to Hornby High, we saw a great opportunity to find up-and-coming students to help or simply inspire them,” he says. 

“We wanted to involve these students and open their minds as to what construction can offer them.”

Beyond educational and career benefits for ākonga, Sam notes an unplanned outcome of the programme – a deeper connection between his class and their community. 

“We’re a small community and a lot of our students are involved with Kāinga Ora personally, in terms of their living situations,” says Sam. 

Seeing how houses are made can help students view their neighbourhood as an ever-changing and complex entity rather than a set of static, seemingly unremarkable buildings. 

Sam noticed that involving students in the improvement of that environment, from a construction standpoint, has helped them make that connection and discover the ways they can participate in their community’s evolution. 

Kaiako Sam Tisch has seen positive responses from the class visits to the site.

Breaking stereotypes

Sam is excited to continue the initiative this year. One key area in which he’s keen to improve is the inclusion of more females. 

“Traditionally, trades are a male-dominated industry,” he says. “It would be great to encourage more females into trades.”

Sam wants to connect his students with women in the industry, in part to dispel the image of the construction site as a sort of “boys’ club”.

“In my class there are a few Year 11 females this year who are interested in getting into trades and we’re going to push to get them that exposure.”

Issue 101.9 of Education Gazette focused in on building pathways to bright futures. We would love to continue to explore this topic and the mahi happening in 2024 and beyond. Email gazette@education.govt.nz.