Before starting the Gateway Programme I was unsure of what I wanted to do after my last year of school, the only idea I had was that I wanted to do a trade of some sort. I had done some research into being an electrician but I was not certain if that's what I wanted to do. 

 I began by spending one day at Thompsons Refrigeration, while I was there I was able to see what kind of work being a refrigeration engineer involved and I began to gain a small understanding of what I enjoyed and didn't enjoy about that type of work.  I then went to Shore Construction and was able to spend the day at a building site learning what that trade involved. 

I then spent a day at Johnson Electrical where I also learnt what being an electrician involved and whether or not I would enjoy the type of work that took place there.  My last taster day involved me going to Fonterra to take a look around the whole factory and have a wider understanding of all the different types of jobs and opportunities that took place in the factory. 

I decided on a permanent placement at Johnson Electrical where I now go for work experience for one day every week.  I have been to many different work sites and learnt many new things about what is involved in being an electrician. 

So far I have been doing basic wiring such as installing new plugs and switches and also installing monitors in factories that read such things as humidity etc. This job is very interesting as I am always learning something new. The job has a lot of variety so you are never doing one repetitive task for long periods of time. 

The ITO that I am registered with is Skills NZ, I am currently doing theory and practical assessments that all count towards my future qualifications such as my electrical apprenticeship.  All my assessments are sent away to be marked by qualified electrical assessors.  I also have to keep track of what I am doing each day I am at work and have it signed off by my employer at the end of the day.  My plans for next year will be to hopefully start an apprenticeship at an electrical company and work towards gaining my qualification to become a fully qualified electrician.