Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
1 min ago
Clayton Farmer has gone on to have a successful career after studying at EIT Tairāwhiti.
From an early age Clayton Farmer had a passion and an aptitude for computers that saw him pursue a Bachelor of Computing Systems at EIT Tairāwhiti.
It has paid off for the Gisborne native, who now has a promising career and life in Auckland.
“My grandmother bought me a computer, so I didn’t have to watch the rugby. And then I just got into it from there. I watched a lot of YouTube videos around Linus tech tips at about 12-years-old.”
Clayton, 26, who attended Lytton High School, graduated from EIT Tairāwhiti in 2016 at 22. Since then, he has achieved numerous successes, including starting his own business.
Clayton’s naturally enquiring mind and his capacity to recognise the limitless potential of computers, initially attracted this astute thinker and entrepreneur to computing.
“I like trying to figure out how things work, and there’s so much you can do on the computer. Once you’ve got a computer, you’ve got all the tools you need.”
Clayton, who went straight from school to EIT, initially enrolled in the (Free) NZ Diploma in Information Systems [Level 5] before completing the three-year Bachelor of Computing Systems.
“The diploma was the first year and then I did another two years for the Bachelor because either way you spend a year to find out, and you still come out with a qualification. And if you want to really become a gold star, you can spend another two years to get the Bachelor’s”.
Clayton has huge praise for his EIT lecturers, whose knowledge combined with their ability to engage with students and to make the course fun, appealed to him.
“They made everything engaging and it was just good fun”.
While completing an internship at Fujitsu Computer Systems in Gisborne, Clayton’s natural talent and skills were quickly recognised by the company.
“In my last year I did an internship with Fujitsu Computer Systems in Gisborne and that converted into a full-time job for me. I finished that and came out of EIT with a full-time job, a degree and more money than I knew what to do with”.
After 18 months at Fujitsu Computer Systems, Clayton started his own business providing IT support, system design, development and implementation.
“I started my own business called Monkey LTD. In my first year of trading, I made six figures in the first year operating.”
Marriage provided Clayton with the opportunity to relocate to Auckland, where he and his husband Ariff, now reside. Although, Clayton, who is the IT Manager at LDE (Land Development and Engineering), remains loyal to his roots and commutes to Gisborne, where the company’s Head Office is based, every other month.
Clayton manages a team of five staff and runs the digital innovation side of the business. His role, which is multi-faceted, involves “building, developing, designing products and running a help desk.
Clayton is full of praise for LDE and its response during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our company was in a magnificent spot through the hard work we did to improve digital infrastructure before COVID. Everyone could still access our systems from home. We coped really well as an organisation”.
Tina Blumenthal, Senior Lecturer, School of Computing, Tairāwhiti, says it has been great to see Clayton’s IT journey unfold.
“At the outset, Fujitsu came to us at EIT looking for a Bachelor of Computing Systems (BCS) intern. They needed someone who not only had an aptitude for IT and problem solving but also a good communicator, with local knowledge and all the smarts of an out-side the box thinker. Clayton’s aspirations and drive to succeed ensured he would do well in a position at Fujitsu.”
“What is equally exciting is Clayton’s current role managing the IT team for Land Development Engineering (LDE). Thanks to LDE, we recently placed a BCS intern within the IT team in Gisborne under Clayton’s guidance. Having the support of local business and skilled graduates make it possible for EIT’s School of Computing to continue growing our local IT capability in Gisborne.”
