UCOL BLOG

Applicants for UCOL’s new truck and forklift driving programme are arriving well aware of the shortage of skilled drivers – in the region and internationally.

The Level 2 National Certificate in Goods Services programme was introduced last year and is now filling its quota for the first intake for 2012.

Programme Coordinator Dave Jenkins says there’s a strong awareness amongst applicants that the certificate will lead to job opportunities, in New Zealand, Australia and further afield.

He says the shortage is partly driven by an ageing truck driving population, with many nearing retirement. “There’s also an increasing need for skilled drivers with the knowledge to manage the safety, fuel economy, weights and loading issues that are part of the job.”

Read More: “Job opportunities drive applicants for UCOL transport programme”…

Manawatu’s new $10m state-of-the-art trades building will be open as planned on 12 March for UCOL trades students.

Local building company McMillan and Lockwood have pulled out all the stops to make sure students enrolled in UCOL’s Trades programmes this year start their studies in their new facilities in Princess Street.  The Trades building will be open for business on 12 March, with students spending their first day learning about and exploring their new environment.

Members of the public and regional industry representatives will also be invited to view the new facilities – the region’s largest trades training centre – later in March.

The new building covers 5,315 square metres, with shared space and enough room for students to build several houses. It contains the very latest industry-fit equipment and allows UCOL teaching staff to combine traditional skills, hands-on project-based learning with new teaching technology, including phones, I-Pads, YouTube and video. Read More: “Trades Building Open for Business”…

UCOL and AS@U welcomes new and returning students with its SUMMER FAIR ORIENTATION 2012 next week.

Activities start on Tuesday with a Powhiri at 9.30am followed by the traditional UCOL Big Breakfast.

Local businesses, sport clubs and community groups from around the Manawatu gather in the Atrium from 11.00am on Wednesday for the annual Market Day.

There’s a BBQ lunch and ‘good old summer fun’ games including sack races, egg and spoon races and more. Read More: “UCOL welcomes students”…

A new postgraduate programme in Clinical Exercise and Physiology offers students valuable first-hand experience at a new Health and Rehabilitation clinic at UCOL in Palmerston North.

In collaboration with the health industry, the new clinic will deliver better outcomes for heart attack sufferers and others with chronic diseases and injuries. It will also educate more specialised clinical exercise and physiology professionals, to contribute to the industry. The initiative is part of UCOL’s strategy to meet future health workforce needs.

The new clinic will open next month in Grey Street, adjacent to the UCOL campus. 

The Academic Leader of UCOL’s Exercise and Sport Science programmes, Dean Rankin, says the UCOL clinic is a first in New Zealand, although there are similar, successful examples in Australia and South Africa. He says it is an innovative and collaborative approach to primary health care and will bring gains for the health sector. Read More: “New health and rehab clinic provides direct experience for UCOL postgraduate qualification”…

UCOL is working with Manawatu health providers to establish a health and rehabilitation clinic with a difference.

The clinic will help people to recover through exercise programmes and will also have a strong education and research component: It will support a new UCOL Postgraduate Diploma qualification in Clinical Exercise Physiology.  The initiative is part of UCOL’s strategy to meet future health workforce needs.

The clinic will help people who have been discharged from hospital and referred by their specialists. They will receive exercise therapy as a treatment to help restore their health and wellbeing following events like heart attacks, respiratory conditions, injuries and some diabetic conditions. 

UCOL’s Dean of Health Sciences, Penny O’Leary, says the clinic is the first of its kind in New Zealand, although there are similar, successful examples in Australia and South Africa. “What makes this unique is the innovative and collaborative approach to primary health care that will bring health and wellness gains for the Palmerston North and Manawatu health sector,” she says.   Read More: “UCOL health and rehab clinic a New Zealand first”…

Universal College of Learning-trained Dwayne Cheer is literally the world’s top chef.

He is Executive Chef at the exclusive ‘At.mosphere’ restaurant in Dubai, the highest restaurant in the world, 422 metres above the earth on the 122nd floor of the Burj Khalifa – the tallest building in the world.

Now preparing food for the rich and famous, including royalty, Dwayne started his career in a fish and chip shop in Waitarere Beach, south of Foxton. He was born in Upper Hutt and grew up on a farm in Dannevirke before moving to Waitarere Beach and attending Horowhenua College. Read More: “New Zealand chef at the top of the world”…