Manukau Institute of Technology celebrated a decade of teaching high school students vocational skills through its Trades Academy with a dinner at Dine Restaurant, Ōtara Campus on Tuesday 18 November.

Secondary school representatives and students joined institute staff, both past and present, to recognise ten years of training delivered by the largest tertiary-based academy in the country.


MIT Pathways Manager Rahera Tupaea and Executive Director Peseta Sam Lotu-liga cutting the birthday cake

MIT & Unitec Executive Director Peseta Sam Lotu-liga says it’s exciting to look towards the milestone and beyond for this initiative.

“The Government has announced its intention to include an increased emphasis on vocational training in its review of our national secondary school qualifications system,” Mr Lotu-Iiga says.

“We see this as a vote of confidence in this work, and a challenge laid down to us to be bigger and better. Our academy is hugely popular with 1600 young people applying for 862 places this year.”


MIT staff and Secondary School representatives celebrated together

MIT Trades Academy is a partnership between the institute and secondary schools. It allows learners the opportunity to come to one of three MIT campuses up to two days a week in Years 12 and 13 to gain trade skills while completing NCEA.

Over the last ten years, the academy has given 6570 learners from 46 high schools a first taste of a future in the trades with 61% of learners of Māori and / or Pacific heritage.

In 2023, BERL estimated that new projects in Auckland would generate around 100,000 fulltime-equivalent jobs (FTEs).


MIT student Hohepa Rameka was one of many ākonga and kaimahi who helped out on the night

“To link the futures of our young people to the great jobs that we know are coming due to significant planned growth in southern and west Auckland; we will need a new generation of well qualified, hardworking, adaptable trades people,” says Mr Lotu-liga.

“To achieve this, we will continue working closely with our families, communities, our schools and industry partners to ensure we keep producing graduates with the right skills required for jobs today and into the future.”


Principal of Howick College Dale Burden accepts one of the awards presented on the night by Rahera Tupaea

Gaynor Matthews is Head of Future Pathways at Pukekohe High School and was formerly MIT’s former Head of Secondary-Tertiary Pathways.

Ms Matthews was joined at the dinner by other former leaders of our academy, Graeme McClennan and Gil Laurenson. In reflecting on the last decade, they paid tribute to the vision and hard work of Emeritus Professor Stuart Middleton who left MIT in 2023.

Ms Matthews says that students get more responsibility when they start a programme at the Trades Academy.

“They have to act more like adults. The relationship with the teachers is a lot different than school. They have to make sure they get to school early so they can catch the bus to MIT. It teaches them the discipline that they will need when they get a job,” Gaynor says.

“Trades Academy has been really good for our students at Pukekohe High School. The teachers really engage well with the young people and treat them like whānau.”

“It’s great to be here to catch up with a few old friends, celebrate how far it’s come and all the success of the programme.”


Former senior leaders of MIT’s Trade Academy Graeme McClennan(left), Gaynor Matthews (2nd from right) and Gil Laurenson (right)

Pukekohe High School student Ebony Bailey, who is currently doing the level 3 Bakery programme, was given the job of making the birthday cake.


Ebony Bailey working on the 10th birthday cake

“I felt privileged to be given the job. It was a bit stressful stacking the cakes, but it turned out decent. It was a chocolate mud cake with chocolate ganache filling.”

“I’ve really enjoyed my time at MIT; I’ve learned a lot. I love hospitality in general. I love hosting people and have them enjoy the food.”

“Next year I’m going to grow the business I started called Ebony Mae’s Cakes.”

Profiles- Trades Academy graduates

Anthony Loo: Builder

Anthony Loo did a Building programme at MIT’s Trade Academy seven years ago while he was in year 12 at Botany Downs Secondary College.

A few weeks after Anthony left school, he got an apprenticeship and is now a qualified builder for Metro Homes helping build architecturally-designed houses all over Auckland.

Mr Loo says he wouldn’t be in the industry if it wasn’t for the Trades Academy programme at MIT.

“It was really good. There was a wide range of equipment on campus that we didn’t have at school. Being away from school also gave us a bit of independence.”

Cadie Rotherham: Mechanic and BMW technician

BMW mechanic Cadie Rotherham says she wouldn’t be where she is today if it wasn’t for MIT’s Trades Academy.

After completing her academy programme in 2019, Ms Rotherham went straight into full-time study at MIT’s TechPark before moving into a one-year Certificate in Automotive Engineering (Level 3) in late 2020.

A short time later, Cadie was offered an apprenticeship at BMW. Her relationship with MIT continued while finishing some of the requirements for her apprenticeship with block courses at TechPark.

Ms Rotherham says TechPark was incredible. “Everything was new, the classrooms are really well set out, and it’s close to public transport, so it was really easy to commute there and back if you didn’t have a car.”

“It’s great to hear MIT is celebrating ten years of the Trades Academy. It’s great that a bunch of kids also have the same opportunities that I had.”

Current Trades Academy student

Nataliya Sharma: Level 3 Automotive

Nataliya Sharma, a Year 13 student completing level 3 Automotive at TechPark this year, speaking at the Trades prizegiving says it wasn’t just cars she learned about during her time at MIT.

“I’ve learned about myself. MIT has taught me about independence, problem-solving and persistence.”

“I didn’t know what to expect. I kind of knew that I liked cars, but I was fascinated by something so complex could work in such perfect harmony.”

“It’s great to take space in a field where not everyone looks like you. As a young woman in automotive I’ve learned that passion and hard work speak louder than any stereotypes.”