Site visit for Building Regula...
Our NZ Certificate in Building Regulatory Environment (BRE) in-class stream of students had the opportunity to see their learning...
Building surveying student Mitchell Baird is poised to change from blended learning to studying while working. The builder of 15 years is thrilled to have joined Christchurch City Council as a building control officer.
Studying the NZ Diploma in Building Surveying programme is equipping him with regulation 18 of the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006, which is mandatory for the new role. The two-year diploma is delivered by blended learning- a combination of face-to-face and online education through Future Skills Academy.
Mitchell started the programme at the beginning of the year. He has shuffled studies with working fulltime and raising two children. But his duties did not stop there. At night, he faced the daunting task of renovating the entire house to prepare it for sale. “I’ve been super busy,” he says. “We are going to upgrade to something bigger.” Mitchell is grateful for the way the programme is structured. “Future Skills has been very flexible and accommodating for someone who has a young family and is working full time,” the Christchurch resident says, “so a big thanks to lecturer Carl Graham.”
Now Mitchell is planning to shift to the NZ Diploma in Building Surveying (In employment). “I’m surrounded by an amazing council who support me and are helping my learning,” he says. “It’s great working around people with so much knowledge.” The 33-year-old has always yearned to work in building control which entails overseeing the work of building surveyors and ensuring construction regulations are adhered to.
The diploma has armed him with valuable knowledge for processing building consents at the council. “I found the regulatory side interesting, mainly the Hunn report and the reasons needed to change the building code to the current building code of 2004,” he says. Mitchell says he relished studying about Building Consent Authorities. “It was great to learn what goes on in a council, about competency statements and other things that I didn’t know from being a builder,” he says. He urges people considering an academy programme to “go for it! It’s an awesome opportunity to upskill and further your career.”
