Media release – West Coast Wilderness Railway, 14 December 2023
Schools partnership on track to end on a high
The inaugural Workforce Pathways program, a partnership between Queenstown’s Mountain Heights School and West Coast Wilderness Railway closes next Monday 18 December with a presentation due to be attended by Mayor Shane Pitt, community members, parents and students. It marks ten weeks of workforce familiarisation placements for the school’s year ten cohort.
“We created the partnership to establish a pathway to future employment for local kids, whilst also encouraging greater year ten attendance, which meets the needs of our organisation and the school” says Ian Robertson, West Coast Wilderness Railway’s General Manager.
“Each student spent a week at the railway experiencing the breadth of workforce options, from track maintenance, locomotive workshop, right through to café, on train and administration roles” Mr Robertson said.
The program was a trial run for 2023 and students feedback has both organisations very excited about future prospects. “I think it was really fun and it’s a thing everyone should do just to see if they would enjoy working in different areas for work,” says Charlton Schultz, one of the program’s participants.
“100% of students surveyed so far reported feeling excited by the program and would do it again if offered, whilst many reported increased confidence and motivation” reports Alex Burgess-Norris, Acting Assistant Principal at Mountain Heights School.
“We have plans to extend the program next year, including introducing a variety of training modules delivered by tourism training organisation VXT, and are hoping to add a Year 11 bridging program to the partnership in the coming years” says Ms Burgess-Norris.
CEO of the region’s tourism authority, Gabriella Conti, has been quick to commend the program, “One of our biggest challenges for our industry is workforce, and we commend the initiative of WCWR within the Queenstown community. As leaders in the industry, it is our responsibility to pave the way for a career in the tourism and hospitality sector. We look forward to collaborating with WCWR in their program in 2024 and encourage students to jump on board and take part in this fantastic program.”
Planning is now underway to repeat the program in 2024.
