On Tuesday, April 9th, a group of students selected by our Gateway program coordinator attended the 'Women in Trades' expo in Manukau. This expo provided information to female students about trades such as electrical, plumbing, construction, rail, automotive, civil and mechanical engineering, and other related fields.

During the expo, the students had the chance to speak with Defence Force staff to learn how they could get their apprenticeships and further studies funded by that employer. They also learned about the courses available at various study institutions beyond school, which helped them broaden their understanding of the scope of trades and pathways available. 

Then on Friday, engineering students had the opportunity to participate in the Link Alliance City Rail Link outing. They first went to Mt Eden Terrace where they were given a presentation on how the City Rail Link was constructed, including how they overcame the logistics of all the issues and how many people from overseas were involved.  
After that, they went to Mayoral Drive and had a site tour where they walked underground from Aotea Centre to Victoria Street, getting to see the two different levels, one at 7 meters which is the pedestrian level and the other one at 15 meters.  
The engineering students had the chance to see and understand the complexity of the Rail Link and the different sides of Engineering.