Te Marunui o Tūparikino now open

The all-weather shelter, Te Marunui o Tūparikino, for trades students on WITT’s lower campus was officially opened this week with a lunchtime ceremony blessing the space.

“The shelter will help alleviate the pressure we have to complete the practical components of our trade skills courses by allowing ākonga to continue their mahi in all weather conditions,” says Director of Trades Training Primary and Creative Industries Daniel Fuemana.

The open-sided shelter will offer vital sun and rain protection for ākonga taking part in construction programmes including the New Zealand Certificate in Construction Trades Skills (Carpentry, Scaffolding and Painting and Plastering) Level 3 and 4 and the Trades Academy Programmes catering to the region’s secondary students.

“With the growing demand for trades training to meet the skills shortage the pressure is on to fit the practical components like house/bach building, scaffolding and painting, that are key components of our trades programmes, around the weather,” adds Fuemana.

In Taranaki alone there is over one billion dollars of construction and infrastructure projects planned for the next four to five-year period that will require an extra 1000 skilled people to undertake the work.

Around 100 ākonga are set to benefit from the shelter every year.

The construction of the new shelter was generously supported by a grant from Toi Foundation.

What’s in a name? Te Marunui o Tūparikino means the big shelter of Tūparikino. Te Marunui means large shelter and also aligns with Te Hēnui (the river that runs alongside WITT) and Tūparikino is the name of the hapū where WITT is located.