In the heart of New Zealand’s ‘Golden Triangle’ sits a training centre unlike any other in the country. With 4,500 square metres of dedicated training space, Major Oak Safety Training (MOST) in Paeroa is changing the way people enter and develop civil infrastructure careers.
MOST founder, director and lead trainer Stuart Hindley says what makes their programme different to other training providers is that the learning environment they provide is almost identical to a real worksite.
“Traditional training centres generally involve all classroom-based or really heavily simulated activities, whereas for us we get students into the actual setting that they would have in the workplace.”
The centre, located 1.5 hours’ drive from Auckland, and an hour from Hamilton and Tauranga, welcomes an average of 2,500 students per year training in specialist subjects like offshore crane operator courses and confined space rescue planning, as well as further core topics focussing on health and safety and driving skills.
MOST’s training centre is large enough to mimic typical civil construction work sites, with designated areas for driver training, confined spaces, working at heights and lifting with cranes. It also hosts a 18m by 6m excavation area where students can dig actual trenches and install services and trench shields, Stuart says.
“Students are doing the tasks on the actual equipment, so it would be no different to them turning up on a job and being told they need to dig a trench at the side of a road. Everything is pretty much as it would be in real life.
“When you go to a traditional training centre for things like working at heights, it’s not done on actual crane frames and jibs – it’s often on top of a shipping container. I’m pretty sure we’re the only training provider in New Zealand with our own cranes.”
Accelerating machine-operator training with simulators
To complement real-world training, MOST. boasts a state-of-the-art CM Labs Vortex Advantage simulator, which can simulate 13 different types of specialist machinery with interchangeable controls specific to each machine.
MOST was the first training company in New Zealand to pioneer immersive simulator training in the civil infrastructure sector, he says.
Stuart says three hours on a simulator equates to around a day and a half on an actual machine because working scenarios can be sped up and reset instantly, and skills can be practiced repeatedly without the downtime of real-world operations.
The accelerated learning path simulators offer helps address one of the industry’s biggest challenges: companies want experienced operators, but gaining that experience takes time, he says.
“Everybody wants a 21-year-old operator that’s got 30 years of experience. You can’t do that, but with high-fidelity simulation you can train someone in a wide range of skills more quickly without endangering the workplace.”
He says he’s proud to have spearheaded simulator training in the civil sector and is pleased to see it becoming more common in the industry.
The realism involved in MOST’s training, alongside access to simulated training environments, makes it well placed to develop the complex multi-tasking skills involved with machine operating in civil infrastructure, Stuart says.
He says for the many people looking to learn how to operate machines, tailored training is essential to hone the hands-on practical intelligence required, which is different from academic learning.
“If you’re going to go into machine operations then you need some way of both training and enhancing the muscle memory and the dexterity and ability of hand-eye coordination.
“So whether you’re grading, whether you’re back cutting or whether you’re digging a trench, it’s important to have good vision around you, communicate about what’s happening, but also concentrate on your task while doing all that.”
A career full of opportunities
For young people considering a future career, civil infrastructure offers more than just employment – it provides extensive opportunities to travel the world and work on exciting projects, he says.
“Having skills in an industry that is required everywhere really is your ticket to go wherever you like. This is an epic journey that you can go on, from learning to operate your dad’s tractor to working on some of the biggest projects in New Zealand or around the world.”
Stuart moved to New Zealand from the English town of Worksop in 2006 after working on civil infrastructure projects across the globe. He decided to found MOST in 2017 to be a centre of excellence for civil infrastructure training, covering everything from entry-level health and safety skills through to Level Four machine operation for skilled civil infrastructure specialists.
Training people across New Zealand, and beyond
MOST’s reach extends well outside its Waikato base, delivering training across the whole of the country “from the top of Cape Reinga all the way down to Bluff and everything in between”, including the Chatham Islands and Great Barrier Island.
On top of that, MOST imparts knowledge and skills to residents of Pacific islands including Fiji, American Samoa, and Nauru, to help them maintain their infrastructure and develop a local workforce that New Zealand companies working there can rely on.
MOST’s innovative training methods and impact on the industry haven’t gone unnoticed. The company has been named Crane Training Company of the Year from 2019 to 2022 by the Crane Association of New Zealand, which also recognised Stuart as its Leader of the Year in 2022. More recently, in 2024 MOST. won the Trades, Manufacturing and Primary Industries section of the Hauraki Coromandel Business Awards.
Partnering with schools and industry
For school leavers exploring options or people considering a career change, MOST offers a “multi-pronged approach” into the civil infrastructure sector through training. It works with schools, pathway programmes and industry partners to create opportunities for people to experience the industry firsthand and get them ready to hit the ground running.
Some courses can be booked directly through MOST’s website, while others can be arranged by employers or pathway programme providers. MOST also offers introduction-to-civil-infrastructure workshops for schools and other organisations to help people learn more about opportunities in the sector and welcomes careers advisors to get in touch to find out more.
“We like to think that everything that we do is industry orientated to better improve or increase the skills of students, whether it’s getting them into or continuing their journey through industry.”
