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National | Education

Polynesian Spa join forces with tertiary provider

The award winning Polynesian Spa in Rotorua has joined forces with tertiary provider Toi Ohomai to host internships for students coming out of the institute's beauty therapy diploma.

Hannah Farrar travels from Tokoroa every day to do what she loves.

“I've couldn't been more lucky.  I think there were about six other girls that went for the job as well and only two got picked,” says Farrar.

This is the first time Polynesian Spa has offered a three-month internship with Toi Ohomai.

Gert Talijaard, CEO of Polynesian Spa says, “For us, it's really about being part of the community.  Toi Ohomai is known as an established education provider and we wanted to engage with them in order to provide a career path for some of the fantastic youth our city”.

Toi Ohomai senior lecturer Julie Garner says this internship is a bonus for their students.

“I'm really, really proud of both of the students that did that," says Garner, "There were quite a few students that were suitable for that internship and they all had to apply”.

The whole process of getting the internship off the ground took over a year.

Helena Keenan of Polynesian Spa says, “there's no guarantee there is a job at the end of it but we did decide that if people demonstrated their abilities to work within the team we would then invite them to apply for a position”.

It's a win-win situation for all involved, especially for the students who came into the internship in December 2017 to February this year.

Teneal Karaitiana says that her mum is her number one fan.

“She's always been there for me so when I finished school I didn't know what I really wanted to do," says Karatiana, "I turned to massaging, studied and got the opportunity of the internship which turned to full-time”.

Since completing the internship, both students applied for positions at Polynesian Spa and now are in full-time employment.