Construction starts for Mangere trades academy

  • Nikki Kaye
Education

A new, modern-trades academy at Southern Cross Campus will create better career pathways for local students, Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye announced today.

Ms Kaye will attend a sod-turning ceremony at the Mangere, Auckland campus this morning, marking the start of construction of the $20m redevelopment.

“The ceremony signals to the Mangere community that the campus is moving forward and that the young people of this community will have high-quality facilities to support their learning,” Ms Kaye says.

“The trades academy will provide modern learning facilities that will cater for the needs of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

“About 100 students will be able to pursue their interests and career ambitions in the construction, automotive, hospitality, services and sports sectors.

“Situating the academy in this community will mean it is easy for students to attend every day and learn the valuable skills they need to equip them for future employment.”

The trades academy is the first stage of a master plan that has been developed for the school to address issues with aged buildings. The master plan will also address any future roll growth at the school.

A proposed second stage will include replacement of some teaching spaces, a new gym and administration facilities. This work is expected to start in late 2015.

The school property portfolio, which has a book value of around $10.5 billion, is the government’s second largest property portfolio after housing. About $500 million is spent annually as capital reinvestment directly within schools.