Information for secondary students and school leavers
Getting out of a traffic jam put Jonathan Newby's career on a new path
An epic traffic jam was the last straw for Jonathan
Jonathan Newby found love and a new career – all because of an epic traffic jam. "I was living in Auckland, and one time it took me two hours to drive 12 kilometres and I was like, 'That’s it!'
"The next week I moved back to Hawke’s Bay, caught up with my friends, and met a girl. Then I said, 'Right, I want to get a job outside – I’ll go driving tractors if I have to'."
And that’s what he did, spending the harvest season driving a tractor on an apple orchard.
- Jonathan with Norm Millar, his training adviser
"It's a pretty good deal!"
When the picking finished, the orchard manager suggested Jonathan stay on and do an apprenticeship. So Jonathan began an Advanced National Certificate in Horticulture (Level 4), studying one day a week while still working at the orchard.
"When I was in my first year I was studying every second Friday, but now it’s one Friday a month. There is no school during harvest, because it’s pretty busy then. Our study year actually only goes from May to November.
"It really is earn as you learn. Our fees are only $650. The Government subsidises them by $2,500 – it’s a pretty good deal."
Jonathan is lucky because his employers, Graham and Marian, pay him for the days he studies. And, because he is in the Hawke’s Bay, Jonathan is also in the running for a scholarship from the Hawke’s Bay Fruitgrowers’ Association.
Studying for an apprenticeship is very different from being at school
"I pay my own fees. That way it’s my incentive to get myself there, and get the work done. If we do what is expected of us, we get a scholarship, which is half our fees for the next year.
"I wasn’t too keen on school – I was one of those people who did enough just before the exams. But once you know what you’re going to be, it’s easy to be motivated."
- Jonathan inspects the apples left on a tree after the harvest
Travel beckons but Jonathan wants to give something back first
Jonathan is nearly at the end of his three-year apprenticeship.
"I want to stay around with Graham and Marian just to put back in what they’ve given me over three years, teaching and paying me. I want to give something back to them."
And then? "I could easily see myself in Europe. I’d love to travel through the job."
- Watch a slideshow of Jonathan working in the orchard
- Horticulture Industry Training Organisation website - information on apprenticeships and training
