Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
35 seconds ago
Braydon Gregory is enrolled in the NZ Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3).
Following in his father’s footsteps by studying at EIT, is setting a student up for a career in mechanical engineering.
Braydon Gregory, 17, is currently doing his apprenticeship and is enrolled in the NZ Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3) at EIT – the same programme his father Aaron completed in the early 2000s.
Braydon left Napier Boys’ High halfway through Year 13 this year with a very clear plan of enrolling in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3) and doing his apprenticeship at his father’s company, Gregory Innovations Limited.
He says that he is a third generation product of Napier Boys’, but that mechanical engineering has also been a part of his life since he was young.
“I’ve pretty much been doing it since I was ten, and then I got top of engineering two years in a row at school.”
“It was then that I decided that I would get a head start by leaving school early and starting the EIT programme. Dad then offered me an apprenticeship opportunity.”
As part of this apprenticeship, Braydon is working with his father on contract work for Dennis Glenn Logging.
“The work we are doing is working on big diggers, big loaders and trucks. It is a wide variety of work.”
It is a busy time for Braydon, whose family has a farm in Puketapu. Not only does he work as a part-time shepherd (he has his own dog) for a neighbour, but he also works at Pan Pac Forest Products outside Napier on a Sunday.
Braydon says that his career path has been planned from the beginning, including studying at EIT.
“My father said that it’s a really good place to learn all the basic skills that you’ll carry on for the rest of your life, like sharpening a drill bit.”
“He said that if you went into industry straight away, they would just overlook it and not teach you. At EIT, you weld for as long as you want to get it right before going out into the industry.”
The aim after he has studied is to eventually take over the family business. However, before then, he plans to go on an OE.
“With my engineering qualifications I will probably travel with engineering, so either go to Australia for the big shutdowns or over to America where they do big pipelines. But the aim is definitely to take over the family business and carry that on.”
Asked what he enjoyed about EIT, Braydon said that the tutors made all the difference.
“It is more than a job for them, they really enjoy engineering and passing that knowledge on to us.”
He has no hesitation in recommending EIT as a place to study.
EIT’s Head of the School of Trades and Technology said: “The engineering industry are a big supporter of EIT’s Mechanical Engineering programme and provide excellent graduate pathways, it is fantastic to see one of our graduates pathway into the industry.”
