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THIS IS US...
The Ara Education Charitable Trust (AECT) is an innovative collaboration between industry, government agencies and schools to create work and training opportunities for South Auckland school leavers.
The five South Auckland schools on our board are:
All of these schools have, or are in engaged with Trades Academies, meaning that students have intense exposure to trade skills in their final two years of school.
AECT provides work experience, career education and opportunities to students in their last year of school and also connects students into work as they leave school. This can be in the form of contract work, apprenticeships or even full time employment.
The key focus of AECT is to support students in the transition from school into the construction industry by means of skills training, obtaining their driver’s licenses, certification and addressing any other skills gaps to ensure they are ready for the workforce. Through this program we can demonstrate to our community there are other paths to success and great options for our students to build a meaningful career which does not mean that they need to be going straight to tertiary education from school.
The AECT has a governance board which is made up of the five school principals as well as highly experienced members from the financial, construction and education sectors. Pete Jones, Principal of Manurewa High School is currently the Chair of the Board.
The AECT projects collaborate with multiple industry and government agencies and is always grateful for their generous contributions of materials, skills and time that support better outcomes for our young people.
“We envision thriving communities through our focus on building and nurturing meaningful, sustainable education and employment pathways for our students”
– AECT
Auckland International Airport Limited is an
extremely proud supporter of the Ara Education
Charitable Trust (AECT). From its beginnings in 2016 we have worked alongside the schools programme in a partnership which has seen the charitable programme flourish. As the lead industry partner, Auckland International Airport Limited has facilitated relationships between AECT and over 40 different companies. By bringing together industry and schools, students have been provided with authentic work-readiness skills which enhance their opportunities for successful, sustainable employment when they move from school into employment.
We are proud to be working with AECT and to be part of positive, life-enhancing change in the South Auckland community.
Mary - Liz Tuck
General Manager - Corporate Services
Auckland International Airport Limited
Our Story
Ara Jobs and Skills Hub was set up by Auckland Airport in 2015. The aim was to connect South Auckland communities with businesses working at and around the airport to fill the thousands of jobs needed to build and run ‘the airport of the future’ over the next 30 years. When Covid struck, some aspects of Ara came to a standstill, with just the schools engagement team remaining. This part of Ara became ‘Ara Education Charitable Trust’ with a small team which hopefully will continue to grow!
The key focus of Ara Education Charitable Trust (AECT) is to support students in the transition from school into the construction industry by means of skills training, obtaining their driver’s licenses, certification and addressing any other skills gaps to ensure they are ready for the workforce. AECT provides work experience, career education and opportunities to students in their last year of school and also connects students into work as they leave school. This can be in the form of contract work, apprenticeships or even full time employment.
One of the many ways we make a difference...
