Tooling up New Zealand schools
OCTOBER 25, 2018
The Mitre 10 Trade stand at the New Zealand Principals Federation (NZPF) Conference in Wellington towers above the rest. As a Gold Sponsor of the event, Mitre 10 Trade is here to showcase its support and offerings for schools across the country. And with Mitre 10 partner Columbus Coffee giving away free flat whites, the stand is certainly one of the most popular!
Jon Feather, National Commercial Manager for Trade at Mitre 10, says Mitre 10 Trade’s presence at the conference is not only great way to educate schools on its offerings, but helps promote career pathways in the trades industry.
“Mitre 10 is a huge supporter of education and promoting the many job opportunities in the building and construction sector. Many of the people here today are highly influential in helping students decide what to do when they leave school, so it’s great to be able to represent the industry at this event,” he says.
“We also have 1,400 schools which have an account with Mitre 10 but most aren’t aware of the range of supplies, tools and advice we can offer them.
“We have a special offer for schools at the conference which provides great Trade discounts across the whole range of product categories and departments at Mitre 10. Plus, they get free access to our Mitre 10 Trade Hub, which means they can manage their account online and place orders.”
A key feature of Mitre 10’s display is the Lockit Workbench, which has been designed and manufactured for year 1 to 13 students with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) in mind. Showcasing how schools can get the most out of the workbench, the set-up includes tools that range from a soldering iron for electronics to woodwork, with six to seven kits around the entire workbench.
Jon says they are proud of their partnership with LockIt which is helping students in practical ways.
“The workbench is a great way for students to apply the knowledge they learn in classrooms in a practical sense – using problem solving, developing and designing their ideas, and building models to test their ideas,” he says.
“Some schools don’t have fitted workbenches, so this is ideal because it can be wheeled around from classroom to classroom. It’s really affordable and is engineered by a company that makes benches to last a lifetime.”
Jon says there are around 750 principals attending the conference this year, and Mitre 10 has already registered 180 people on Day One of the two-day conference.
“We are incredibly happy with the response we have had so far. It’s great to be able to chat with schools, understanding their challenges and letting them know how we can support them in a variety of ways.”
