Fijian boat builders training in New Zealand
With assistance from government funding, NZMAC ITO and Skills International Limited have given four Fijian apprentice boat builders an incredible opportunity to further their training in an off-job training course and a short tour of some New Zealand marine companies.
The off-job training course is designed to supplement skills already learnt in the workplace, and expose learners to skills and experience that they may not otherwise have access to. Vi, Ryan, Tony, and Tex have spent two weeks at the Scale Drawing and Lofting course with NZMAC ITO providers Northtec at their Whangarei campus.
The NZMAC ITO team arranged site visits to Blackdog Cat 2016 Ltd, CIRCA Marine Industrial Ltd, and Tangaroa Marine Fabrication Ltd so the apprentices could gain an appreciation of how New Zealand companies operate in the production boat building sector.
The Fijian apprentices are all employees of Cobra Boats and Marine Services Limited based in Nadi, Fiji. Cobra Boats and Marine Services Limited produce a wide range of alloy boats including; long boats, barges, catamarans, boat trailers, jet-ski trailers, and the odd tourist submarine.
Comments from the Tony on behalf of the team:
“Our trip here is one that we believe will not only benefit our company but give us an opportunity to raise the standards of building alloy boats in the south pacific similar to what we have seen here on our site visits to some of the best well-known boat building companies.”
