Waikato Training Centre

Earthworks Begin For $14m South Waikato Trades Training Centre

We have reached an important milestone for the South Waikato Trades Training Centre, with the start of earthworks this month. Our team is proud to be working with SWIFT and Toi Ohomai, on a project that will support the local economy, providing jobs and learning opportunities for many, with a positive impact on the future of the community. Read the full story below.

Media Release

Earthworks by local company Tirau Earthmovers have begun for the new $14 million South Waikato Trades Training Centre being built on corner of State Highway 1 and Chambers St at the northern entrance to Tokoroa.

The site was blessed by Raukawa kaumātua Te Hapuku Rikiriki and Poihaere Barrett at a ceremony in July attended by representatives from the South Waikato district’s diverse cultures.

Raukawa Charitable Trust Tumu Whakarae (General Manager) Maria Te Kanawa said the Trades Training Centre will enable many South Waikato rangatahi to train in Tokoroa rather than travelling out of the district away from the support of their whānau.

The South Waikato Trades Training Centre is being funded through the South Waikato Investment Fund Trust (SWIFT), a community-owned economic development fund dedicated to South Waikato’s prosperity, with grants from the Provincial Growth Fund, Trust Waikato and SWIFT.

SWIFT Chairperson Bruce Sherman said the Trades Training Centre was being developed alongside Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology which will be the training provider. The Centre will cater for up to 500 students a year.

“We have strongly encouraged South Waikato tradespeople and building suppliers to tender for this work to help the local economy and to provide job and learning opportunities.”

The Centre will be a combined 3,500m2 of learning space, four workshops and staff space with a commercial kitchen, café and barber shop. It will also have a space allocated for a digital and entrepreneurial hub to help address the digital divide and assist young people into their own businesses. South Waikato District Council Mayor Jenny Shattock said the new Trades Training Centre was an excellent example of the South Waikato education, business and local government sectors working together to help the district thrive and grow economically and socially.

“The Centre’s location near State Highway 1 will provide a fabulous new gateway to the northern entrance to Tokoroa and will complement the recent town centre redevelopment.”

Toi Ohomai Board of Directors Chairperson, Catherine Cooney, said the new campus will help breathe life into the community and it was exciting to see this initiative come to fruition after all the planning.

“This campus will enable more students to develop their skills in the community. Local employers need more skilled workers and this new campus will help bridge that gap. “We look forward to seeing the build progressing and once opened, to help provide a skilled workforce to see this great community prosper.”