My thoughts before starting Gateway this year were many and varied. There were many things I wanted to do, for example engineering, tanker driving and many other cool out of the box things.

I have been to four taster days to help confirm my decision as to what I would like to do. I have been to Thompson Engineering, H&J Bruce Transport, Parr & Co Engineering and Burgers Butchery. Going to each of those firms helped me to understand not only what each company does but also what their normal working day is like.

Out of the four industries I went to, I managed to narrow it down to two, Burgers Butchery and Thompson Engineering. It was hard choosing between the two as I had great experiences at both. After going on my final taster day at Parr & Co it helped my decision as to which industry I would choose. In the end, after a few days of discussing with family, friends and Mrs Mehrtens I decided to select butchery for my Gateway placement.

At Burgers Butchery I began by being introduced to the team and being shown around in the workplace. The tasks I do at the butchery depends on what is happening each week. Most mornings I start off by dealing with the hot dogs by de-skinning them, letting them cool down and then reading the board to see how many kilograms of hot dogs each takeaway shop would like. Any leftover hot dogs I let cool down and vacuum pack them for storage in the cooler. Cleaning is also a big part of the job. I have to make sure the benches are clean so that there is no cross contamination of the other meat that is going to be cut up on that same bench.

Over the few months of working at Burgers Butchery, my mentor Amos has taught me how to cut several different cuts of meat which has been very fun to learn. Watching Mark and Sam communicate with each other whilst working through and solving problems is quite inspirational. Getting to know all three staff and working together with them over the last few months has been fun. I have learnt so much more about the butchery industry than when I first started.

My learning plan includes both theory and practical Skills4work units which are assessed in the workplace. These units count towards NCEA and a future apprenticeship.