A construction company in Central Otago has developed a school-based trade training programme that takes students beyond the classroom and into the full experience of building a real structure. The TradeBase initiative, run by Breen Construction in partnership with Dunstan High School in Alexandra and Wakatipu High School in Queenstown, has 28 students enrolled in 2026, building 69-square-metre transportable homes while earning pre-trade qualifications and NCEA credits.
The programme is a significant expansion from its equivalent in 2025, which had nine students. The 2026 intake includes 14 students from Wakatipu, eight from Dunstan, and six participants from a Ministry of Social Development pilot that is being opened to a wider region as a result of early results.
What Students Are Building
The homes being constructed are not training exercises — they are real buildings that will be used. Dunstan High School’s completed home will serve as a hostel, while Wakatipu’s structure is likely to be sold into the community. Students work on the full construction process from framing through to fit-out, with trade-specific input from industry partners including Aotea Electric for electrical work, Foleys for plumbing, and Trusstech for structural components. Hilti Tools and PlaceMakers are among the wider group of sponsors supporting the programme.
Changing the Narrative Around Trades
Breen Construction Managing Director Lindsey Breen has been direct about the motivation behind the initiative. He wants the construction industry to stop being treated as a backstop for school leavers who have not found a clear direction elsewhere. Trade careers should be presented as a deliberate choice — and programmes like TradeBase are designed to make that case by giving students genuine experience of what the work involves before they commit to a training pathway.
The BCITO is the formal training partner for the programme, ensuring that the work students complete is recognised against national qualification frameworks and creates a genuine head start for those who go on to formal apprenticeships.
The Model Worth Replicating
The TradeBase model addresses two problems simultaneously: it gives construction employers a pathway to identify and begin developing future apprentices, and it gives students a credible, hands-on pathway into the trades rather than a theoretical introduction to them. Lindsey Breen’s vision for the programme expanding to other regions through the MSD pilot makes practical sense — the construction workforce shortage is national, and the solution needs to be too.
Explore more training and apprenticeship news from New Zealand’s construction sector, or connect with industry training organisations and employers offering school-based pathways.
