I am in Year 12 and I'm taking Gateway this year.  Before I started Gateway I had the idea of getting an apprenticeship as an electrician, so I chose to do Gateway so I could get a bit of experience in the industry and see if it was for me.  I did three taster days with different types of electricians such as an automotive electrician at Bright Sparks, domestic electrician at Johnson Electrical and I also went to Fonterra to see their electrical department.  But after having the experience and finding that it wasn’t for me I decided to have a look elsewhere and finally decided to have a look at being a pilot.

I have just completed a 10 week aviation course at Richard Pierce Airport with 6 other students from schools in Timaru.  The course involved learning to fly a Piper Tomahawk and several trips to airline companies such as Air NZ and Air Safaris.  As part of the course there are 5 unit standards I have to complete about aviation history, aerodromes and types of aircraft e.t.c. Service IQ provide the assessments for me to complete, they are the Industry Training Organisation responsible for aviation qualifications.

This term I will be doing my Gateway work placement with a private helicopter company which I'm really looking forward to.  I am very keen to be involved in the aviation industry when I leave school.