Off the back of AMA's presence at the Tāhatū Careers Expo Christchurch, the Manufacturing Passport Programme has landed in Canterbury for the first time. Having connected with students and teachers on the expo floor, AMA has now taken that engagement a step further — getting students out from behind the stand and into the workshops themselves.

Three groups took part — two from Hornby High School and one from Riccarton High School — hosted across six local manufacturers: Argus Manufacturing, Hamilton Jet, ENI Manufacturing, Wyma Solutions, Enztec, and Taylors Manufacturing.

Some manufacturers feedback:

Hamilton Jet team members said the students were engaged, curious, and full of great questions about how things work and what careers in the industry could look like.Special thanks to the Hamilton Jet staff who gave up their time to show the Students around and answer everything thrown at them.

Taylors Manufacturing team said connecting with the next generation and showing the many pathways into NZ's manufacturing and engineering sectors is always rewarding — and they're hopeful there are some future engineers, fabricators, and innovators among the students who came through.

It's a huge effort from all six host manufacturers who opened their doors, and from the Hornby and Riccarton staff who backed the programme from day one. As Hamilton Jet put it — Christchurch, this is just the start.

What schools said

Careers staff involved gave the programme strong marks overall, describing it as a great way for students to get first-hand experience of manufacturing in Christchurch and the opportunities it offers. Feedback also pointed to real strengths in how the manufacturers themselves showed up — hosts were described as well-prepared and knowledgeable.

Next year, we hope to expand the Manufacturing Passport Programme to even more businesses and more schools across Canterbury. For more info, email [email protected]

Bay of Plenty and Hutt Valley Manufacturing Passport Programmes will start Term 3, along with Auckland’s first manufacturing passport programme following close behind.