Te Mahi Ako apprentices at Vidcom produce podcast for ākonga and staff

Published 12 September 2024

A recent Te Mahi Ako graduate who completed his apprenticeship at Vidcom has teamed up with a new apprentice to develop and produce a podcast series that will help future apprentices learn about the company and foster skill development.

During Khiry Hewitt’s Entertainment and Event Technology apprenticeship, he found that while there was a wealth of online resources for ākonga | learners, these resources weren’t specific to what his workplace delivers. Vidcom specialises in corporate audio-visual event support, and has a studio space where clients can record, stream and present their content as well as utilise a control room that can cater to fully virtual events.

Upon completing his apprenticeship in 2022, Khiry and the team brainstormed potential solutions. “We came up with the idea of VidPod,” he says. “An informative, light-hearted video series that apprentices could watch to gain an insight into what other people within the business are doing.”

Because Vidcom has its own studio space, it presented a great opportunity for apprentices to help produce the content themselves. Connor Baker, a current Te Mahi Ako apprentice at Vidcom, has now helped produce almost ten episodes at the Wellington Vidcom branch, providing assistance in setting up the studio, operating cameras, and micing up presenters.

“This hands-on experience in a studio environment,” Khiry says, “is such a great learning opportunity as it is relaxed, low pressure, and gives our apprentices a chance to make mistakes and have some creative license on the resources they utilise.”

Another advantage of the podcast format is that it’s more relevant to how people consume information today. Apprentices aren’t the only ones benefiting from producing the VidPod – people across the entire company, right up to the CEO and GM, have found the VidPod useful. “This initiative aligned with our core values such as manaakitanga and became another example of how we strive to work to them every day.”

The team is looking to record up to ten more episodes by the end of the year, with the goal of bridging further gaps in knowledge and building on a tool that can aid more ākonga on their journey to qualification.

Ka rawe tō mahi e hoa mā!