Student Success Stories

Hayden King

Hayden King is now well on the way to a career in the food industry thanks to his training at Community College Southland.

He has started work as a part time kitchen hand at Gore café/restaurant Howl at the Moon after completing the Chef Training course at the College.

“I’ve had to start at the bottom but this job is a good foot in the door that I believe will lead on to full time work, and eventually a job as a chef.
I really want to cook and hope that this career will take me to different places all around the world.”

Hayden started to investigate training opportunities when he was still at high school.

“I knew that I wanted to do something in the food industry, but a lot of the providers were going to cost way too much. It was great to know that my studies at the College wouldn’t cost me anything, and I was impressed that when I came down for my first meeting everyone was so friendly and welcoming.”

During his time at the College Hayden achieved his NCEA Level 2 and National Certificates in Cookery Level 2 and 3.

“Before I started at the College I mucked about and procrastinated a lot, but the tutors and staff gave me a lot of support and helped me to keep my mind focused on what I was doing. My confidence has grown one hundred percent since doing the course.”

Hayden says that he enjoys cooking “gourmet kiwi tucker”, but also has a passion for baking.

He still regularly pops into the College to catch up with his friends still on his course and his tutor Marilyn.

“I’d recommend the College to anyone in a second. I certainly wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now without it.”

Ezra Jeffrey

When Ezra Jeffrey ran out of work as a builder’s labourer in 2008 he decided it was time to look for a different career option.

“I had always been interested in hospitality, and the Café Culture course at Community College Southland stood out compared to other courses on offer. The hands-on training and the fact that the College had its own restaurant really appealed to me.”

After he had been on the course around six months Ezra decided that he enjoyed the waiting and bar tending aspects of it the most. He was pleased when a work experience placement led to a job last Christmas, but after a few weeks he decided that he wasn’t quite ready to enter the work-force full time. He went back to the College to finish his qualifications, achieving NCEA Level 2 and 3 and National Certificates in Hospitality Levels 2 and 3.

Ezra Jeffrey

Now he is working full time as a food and beverage staff member at the Ascot Hotel Restaurant. “I love my job, and it wouldn’t have been possible
without the College. They supported me and made sure that I finished my qualifications and was ready to get a job. I’ve developed heaps of new

skills, not just in service, but also in food preparation and people skills.”

Ezra now plans to work towards his Manager’s Certificate and one day he would like to own his own restaurant. “I’m definitely going to continue
down this career path. It is a much better fit for me”
He says that he would have no hesitation in recommending the College to other prospective students. “I’d tell them to go in for the taster day at
the College where you can experience the courses and see if it is for you. I definitely recommend it. The tutors are great and help you heaps.”

Jessica Wallis

Jessica Wallis

Jessica Wallis only started studying towards a National Certificate in Community Support Services in February 2010, but she has already been offered casual part-time work on completion of her course.

“I’ve been out on work placement at a local rest home and as a result have been offered the work. This is thanks to the many skills that I am learning on the course that will help me towards getting a full time job as a support worker in the future.”

Jessica says that even her short time at the College has been “very rewarding and enjoyable”.

“The tutors and other students are always supportive and friendly and make every day worth coming for.

Robert Drummond

The skills Robert Drummond learned in the Supported Learning programme at Community College Southland have led to his participation in the YMCA Wise Youth Development programme.

Robert was out of work when he started at the College in early 2008.

“I needed something to do and the College was the only place I looked at. The tutor Colleen was great - she gave me a lot of help.” During the course, Robert achieved a National Certificate in Work and Community Skills.

Christine Brown, at Community College Southland says that Robert was a “champion for others” in his class during his studies.

“Robert is very caring and also has a wicked sense of humour. It was great to see his growth during the course – to see him grow in confidence, stand upright and be proud of himself when he left the College. His new tutor at the YMCA says that he has fitted in very well there too.”

Robert Drummond

Although it’s early days, Robert says that he has enjoyed learning “heaps of new things” on the Wise Youth Development programme.
“There is quite a lot of outside work on the course – we’ve already learned how to use a chainsaw and it’s only the second week.”

He says that he would definitely recommend the Community College as a stepping stone to further training or employment.

“They help out heaps.”

Hairdressing - Nikita Garden and Teresa Bishop

nikita
Nikita Garden

Two students on the Hairdressing course at Community College Southland have achieved recent individual success.

Nikita Garden has just gained full-time employment and an apprenticeship at Ava Cut South, where she completed work experience during her studies, while Teresa Bishop won first place in the College’s photographic competition.

“Both of these students are an absolute pleasure to teach. They show wonderful hairdressing skills, maturity beyond their years and a willingness to learn and participate. They also support the rest of our team by sharing their knowledge,” says tutor, Liz Dawson.

Nikita has spent the last year with the College training for a National Certificate in Salon Support.

“The College has helped me to build the confidence, knowledge and skills I needed to achieve my goal of getting an apprenticeship. Now that I
have achieved my National Certificate in Salon Support and NCEA Level 2 I am moving on to full-time work to complete the next step towards
becoming a qualified hairdresser,” she says.

As part of their hairdressing studies, the students learn the basics in photography to help them gain confidence in the competition arena, and to enable them to enter the photographic competition run by the College. This is the area where Teresa shone.

“I particularly enjoyed this activity as we had to plan and prepare our model, take the photographs and present them for judging. The skills that I gained from this experience helped me win the competition.

I have now also started a portfolio that I plan to build on to help me gain future employment in the industry.”

teresa

Teresa Bishop