SOREC Academy
SOREC was established to help the sustainability of Engineering in our region. One of the big issues for us as an industry is our shortage of staff. The Academy is designed to help address the workforce issues by exposing young people to all the wonderful and varied career opportunities there are in trade Engineering.
SOREC works closely with High Schools across Southland and Otago. We start by helping generate student interest in Engineering. We then help the schools place the interested students in the SOREC Academy companies. The suggested schedule is that students spend one day a week for six weeks per company and visit four companies in total. The reason behind being placed in four companies is to get a feel for all the different skills, machinery, outputs and most importantly, the different career opportunities that are available in trade Engineering. The suggested schedule is flexible and can be changed to suit the needs of both student and company. Some companies prefer developing the students over a longer period. Also, some students could be part of Gateway and do a 10-week block.
Our role at SOREC during these placements is to support and develop the relationship between the schools and companies and take care of any issues that arise.
The students are there to get as much experience as possible. It is important that they are gaining this through as much hands-on works as they can safely do so. Observing the programming and running of high-tech machinery is also a great way to highlight career opportunities for them
Academy History
In 2021, a pilot was run with seven students across three schools.
· 1 student gained an Engineering Apprenticeship
· 1 student returned to school and went through the Academy again in 2022
In 2022, we grew the number of student participants to just over thirty from fourteen schools. After asking what the Academy Students’ plans are for next year – we have had 19 respondents:
6 students have received or would like to get an Apprenticeship in Engineering.
4 students are returning to school and would like to go through the Academy again
3 students plan on Studying Engineering at a Tertiary institute.
In another survey 100% of the student respondents said they would recommend the experience to their friends
2023 Timeline
Term 1 starts between Monday 30 January & Tuesday 7 February, but is school dependent.
First 1-2 days of Term 1:
· SOREC will email this timeframe through to the schools, with the details of the businesses involved in your town/city
First 1-3 weeks of the Term 1
· SOREC will be available to come and talk to any students about Engineering and the Academy. James can bring in Engineers to speak as well.
· SOREC can give the Health and Safety Induction for the students who are participating in the Academy.
· For students who are unable to get their own, SOREC can help provide Overalls and Safety Boots.
By Week 4 of Term 1
· Ideally, students would have started in the academy by now.
We will be available throughout the year to run through the same process for any students who wish to join a bit later in the year.