Thanks to friends and family already working as line mechanics, Noah Bennie was confident being a line mechanic was the job for him; a good match for his desire to work outside and his love of climbing.
It was during a Gateway programme, working one day a week for Delta in Alexandra while he was still at high school that Noah knew he was on the right path for a successful career he enjoys.
Noah now works full time for Delta as an apprentice line mechanic and credits Gateway for setting him up for success as a trainee.
“I have a cousin who’s a linesman and a friend who had already started an apprenticeship with Delta so I knew from them it was a good job but doing the work experience with Gateway really showed me what it was like.
“It lets you do all that on-the-job hands-on stuff that you can’t do in school. You’re learning things that you know are going to help you in the future.”
Noah says the transition into an apprenticeship with Delta through Connexis has been seamless thanks to his previous Gateway experience with the company.
“I’ve really just gone straight from doing one day a week to working five days a week with them. There’s some bookwork obviously but it’s been a pretty easy change to working full time.
“Knowing the company and people has made it easier, and it means they’re familiar with me too. They knew me and they knew I was going to be useful and have a bit of a clue what I’m doing.”
As well as technical skills Noah says Gateway also set him up for the reality of working full time. “The work experience, and my apprenticeship training help you develop a good work ethic; to show up wanting to do your best and enjoy the work.”
A highlight of the job so far for Noah was a snow day that meant his crew was out from 7am to 9pm fixing weather-related faults around the region. “That was pretty cool, out in the snow all day fixing faults and broken cross arms and all sorts. That was definitely a highlight.”