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Photo by Marian Mehrtens

Gateway Profile - Toby Scannell

Marian Mehrtens —

My advice for future Gateway students is that Gateway is not just a course for ‘tradies’, it is great for any career pathway, it has helped me make decisions about my future career.

I applied for Gateway because I wanted to have my career path after high school set in year 12. I wanted this set so I can spend most of my time in year 13 working towards getting the right grades and taking the right subjects ready for when I leave. Originally I was very interested in working in the outdoors and doing a role to do with sport. I spent a lot of time researching careers and I was set on Sports Turf Management. My first taster day was with Turf Services where I spent the day going around most of the sports turfs they maintain in Timaru, I came to the realisation very quickly that this wasn’t a role for me. I was then placed at Sacred Heart School where I spent the day roaming around the year 7 and 8 classes. It only took me the first hour to realise that this was very enjoyable, I found myself fitting right into a teacher's role as it suited me perfectly.

So, of course, I selected Sacred Heart School as my full-time placement in the role of a teacher. I spend one day a week in the year 8 class as an assistant teacher. To make this relevant to my year 12 school work I do a mix of practical and theory work. I have units that are from SIT and units that are from Career Force. This work allows me to get credits while I’m on-site and when I’m in the Gateway class at school. Next year I plan to take the recommended subjects for teachers college, I will be working towards getting my UE and my NCEA level 3.

Gateway is great for any career, it allows you to explore practically any field and the team of staff working in Gateway will ensure that the role you are going into suits you best and will assist you for future endeavours.