OUR PEOPLE —
NMIT awarded NZCB Business Membership We here at the Construction Trades of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) take considerable pride in announcing that we have successfully become approved Business members of NZCB. This is a bit of a coup really, as we are the first Polytechnic in New Zealand to be granted this status. Not bad for a relatively small Polytechnic sitting snugly at the top of the South Island.
Last year, our local NZCB branch in conjunction with Mitre 10 Mega Nelson agreed to take part in a charity build to raise much needed funds for our local Nelson rescue helicopter. President of NZCB Nelson Garry Nott, approached me to see if our pre-trade students could afford the time to carry out work on the charity build during the week to support the rest of the team who were working weekends in keeping the house build on track. This was an easy decision and the outcome of a completed NZCB house plan being delivered on time showed that collaborative working pays off. This is where I started to think of the NMIT and NZCB partnership and how this could be strengthened and mutually rewarding. I raised the idea at our branch meeting to sound out the lads if it was a possibility that NMIT could become full members. I raised the idea with our Head of Department Justin Carter who fully got on board in supporting this proposal. As we already build the odd house here and there, the benefits and backing of NZCB around online contracts, the Halo Guarantee and the members ToolShed became more and more appealing. Having full Business membership has a certain amount of kudos and that is where our pre-trade students see the relationship between Polytechnic and industry. I can only extol the virtues of being a member, after seeing the passion of all the members through the Facebook forums which openly share information, tips and tricks. Eddie Shields, Principal Academic Staff Member for Carpentry Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology NMIT students and tutors will benefit from their newly approved NZCB Business membership.
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Grant Florence, Chief Executive of NZCB sums it up superbly:
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I am delighted to see that Nelson Marlborough Institute of technology (NMIT), one of our ITAB Polytechnic partners have become a Business member of NZCB. This is a first and a move that we as an association applaud. As part of their day to day carpentry education business, NMIT undertake building work and with their trade qualified tutors involved they were keen to utilise and demonstrate to their apprentices the wide range of services offered by NZCB. A great step toward these apprentices becoming future members of NZCB. This is just another step for the ever-growing relationship between NMIT and our Nelson Region of NZCB, which continues to go from strength to strength. Welcome Justin and the team at NMIT.
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Our involvement with NZCB and ITAB does not come as a surprise to many as we are pushing above our weight with consistently high numbers of ITAB and NMIT managed apprentices. So, the relationship is there. It was not until I became involved as a committee member of the very proactive Nelson branch of NZCB that got me thinking about the role that all our staff play in the education of learners, apprentices and indeed industry.
