August 6, 2020
No-one achieves major goals on their own â our success also depends on support from those around us. Thatâs why refrigeration and air conditioning apprentice Avishkar Kissun is happy to be using his skills to help his hard-working parents pay the bills, and plans to celebrate getting established in his trade by taking his family on holiday.
For Avishkar Kissun, learning a trade is about giving back to his family.
The 21-year-old was born in Batinikama, Labasa, on the island of Vanua Levu, Fiji. But his parents, who are both teachers, wanted him and his sister to have more opportunities. So in 2016, they made the difficult choice to leave Fiji and come to New Zealand.
âMy parents wanted a great future for me and my sister. They needed a better future for us, so they decided to move to a new country.â
Once in New Zealand, Avishkar chose to learn a trade because it allows him to help support his family while he trains, and opens up the possibility of owning his own business one day.
âMy parents have struggled a lot in coming to New Zealand and it wasnât an easy way to come here. So I have to care for my family.â
Avishkar learning on the job in Ponsonby, not far from Airtechâs headquarters on Williamson Ave.
House warming
Avishkar now lives in Papatoetoe with his parents, his sister and his granny.
âIt was a big change for us, because we still have our house and close families in Fiji. It was really a very hard decision to leave behind our house and people with whom weâve spent our time,â he says.
âMy dad has struggled a lot. Coming from Fiji and getting a job was hard in New Zealand. When we came, my mum was the main applicant and she came on a student visa. She completed her Bachelors of Digital Technologies at MIT as an international student. My dad worked as a cleaning supervisor at the airport. After about two years, he managed to get his teacher registration and started teaching, through which we got residence.â
Avishkarâs parents are both now working as teachers, and his sister is studying biomedical science at Auckland University.
Together, the family managed to save enough to buy their own house in Auckland.
âWe have just bought our own house last year, due to our hard work and savings. I am lucky to be working because I am helping my parents pay the mortgage.â
Avishkar wants to use his trade to give back to his parents.
âThis house is not my parentsâ dream house. I have a plan in my mind: Iâm thinking of buying them a house that they like â a dream house for them.â
âIâm also thinking of taking my family on a big vacation once Iâm established in my trade and my life is sorted out.â
Conditioned for success
Avishkar knew he wanted to study refrigeration and air conditioning after he lent a helping hand to his neighbour, who was a refrigeration engineer.
âA few days I went with him to help him, and I really enjoyed it and wanted to learn more. I didnât have any knowledge of it â I was just a helping hand, you know. I wanted to learn more, so I just went to MIT and found the pre-trades course in air con and refrigeration.â
In 2018, after finishing high school, Avishkar did a Certificate in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (Level 3) at Manukau Institute of Technology, with help from an MPTT scholarship. He excelled in his studies and was given the MIT MPTT Top Trainee Award for General Engineering.
âMPTT paid for my fees, plus they gave me support to buy tools, which was very good and very helpful for me. Those are the tools Iâm using now. And Hami and Naomi from MPTT supported me with preparing my CV and getting me ready for a career.â Â
Tools arenât cheap, and Avishkarâs grateful for the help from MPTT with putting his kit together.
In January 2020, Avishkar started his apprenticeship (through Competenz) at Airtech, which sees him working all over Auckland.
âThe thing I enjoy most is going to new places in Auckland, and getting to work on new types of air con.â
âMy job mostly focuses on the air conditioning. There are selected senior staff who do the refrigeration and I work with them. I have just started, but I am doing my best to learn refrigeration from them.â
Avishkar with his supervisor Pritesh (top left); removing redundant air conditioning equipment from a refurbishment in Ponsonby; and with his boss John Yorston, who says Aviâs maturity helped land him the apprenticeship.
Air of confidence
Avishkarâs boss John Yorston, General Manager at Airtech, says the company is constantly âbombardedâ with CVs from people looking for work, but Avishkar shone through because of his maturity.
âThereâs a formality about him in terms of how he works and in his manner. Heâs presentable and tidy. He has a maturity thatâs a major benefit for him in what heâs doing and where heâs going, and that rolls into his acceptance by the team.
âGive him a few years and heâll be able to liaise with clients and pretty much do everything we could want â thatâs for sure.â
One challenge for Avishkar has been getting comfortable with heights.
âIt was very challenging for me when I started, you know. Going up high, climbing ladders and everything, is not easy when youâre not used to it. But slowly I am learning and seeing where people put their hands, whatâs the correct position. Now itâs all normal for me and Iâm confident in everything, but this was one of the challenging parts.â
In the future, Avishkar has his sights set on owning his own business, and he hopes to be able to employ some of his relatives who also live in Auckland.
This story first appeared on the MÄori and Pasifika Trades Training website.
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