Work placement turns into apprenticeship thanks to Build a Trailer programme

By the time 17-year old Ben Andrews is 21 he plans to be a fully qualified fabricator thanks to a work placement at Rivet that has now turned into an apprenticeship thanks to the 2020 Build a Trailer programme.

As a member of the Engineering Taranaki Consortium (ETC) Rivet hosted a Build a Trailer student one day a week for 10 weeks as part of their work experience and hit gold with Ben.

“Ben’s work placement gave him a head start when it came to gaining an apprenticeship - I could see he had a good base knowledge, a good work ethic and could work in a team environment,” says Rivet’s Aaron Stevenson.

Ben also had the opportunity to put what he was learning in the classroom into practice in the workplace.

“The amount of knowledge that you learn from just being there, alongside people that do this for a job is great – the brain soaks it all in. You can read books and can only learn so much,” says Ben.

Ben joined the Taranaki Future's 2020 Build a Trailer programme as Year 12 student at Spotswood College and acknowledges and thanks the school’s gateway team, the tutors at WITT and Rivet for the opportunities he has been given.