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The Taieri Gorge Railway is a tourist orientated railway based in Dunedin. Arguably the biggest tourist attraction in the city, the train operates from the historic Railway Station, and travels to Pukerangi, Middlemarch and Palmerston, as well as through Queenstown and Central Otago.

Administration Manager Eleanor McLellan believes a key to the Railway’s success is its investment in recruiting and training young, local staff.

“We haven’t had to put an advertisement in the paper for over 11 years, simply because we open our doors for local students to come and gain some work experience with us,” explains Eleanor.

“For the students it is a great opportunity to get some experience to help them decide if Tourism is the industry for them. For us, it means we can ‘trial’ these young people to see if they have the right fit for our workplace. If their placement works out it means by the time they finish school we can offer them a job, so that we have more capacity for our busy summer season.”

Over the past few years the Railway has hired over 12 staff this way, recruiting local students for everything from customer service roles to administration support and buffet attendants.

“What we are looking for in a student is someone who is confident, bright and bubbly, with strong numeracy skills and good general knowledge of New Zealand. Recruiting young people means we can train them in the way our particular business works and at the end of the day they come out with good general skills that they can apply across the industry,” says Eleanor.

As well as general work experience, students have the opportunity to spend time in the workplace through the Gateway programme.

Amanda Harwood, 17, conducted her Gateway placement at the Railway last year with a learning plan of 18210: Communication and Customer Service Skills at Level 3, 18231: Work Roles at Level 2, and 18224 Teamwork at Level 2, as part of her final year at Queen’s High School. She is the third student the Railway has hosted through the programme.

“Amanda is a great example of a student who has grabbed the Gateway opportunity with enthusiasm and a real desire to learn. We offered her a position when she finished school and she is now working through an ATTTO Tourism Modern Apprenticeship to continue building her skills.”

“The Tourism Modern Apprenticeship has really helped to increase her understanding of the business and the Tourism industry as a whole. As her knowledge grows, you can see the confidence in her own ability also grows along with that,” says Eleanor.

Amanda is one of two staff at the Railway currently studying a Modern Apprenticeship, which they work on during down time in the workplace. Both agree that studying on the job is a smart way to learn.

“I learn by doing,” says Amanda. “I loved studying Tourism at school, and participating in Gateway helped me to gain my current position. The next step of studying a Tourism Modern Apprenticeship is a good option for me because it means I can gain a qualification while I’m working, I don’t need to leave the business.”

Modern Apprentices Leagh Bartley and Amanda Harwood from Taieri Gorge Railway.