Southern Institute of Technology (SIT) graduands, Dimas Listantyo and Teto Prakarsa, will graduate this Friday with a Bachelor of Construction (Quantity Surveying strand) with one of them already employed in the sector.
Mr Listantyo and Mr Prakarsa, who’s married to Mr Listantyo’s sister, hail from Indonesia and came to New Zealand three years ago to study. Mr Listantyo had a brother who paved the way for him, coming to SIT and studying Cookery. “He now has his own business, he owns a food truck, The Saucy Chook,” which can be found at markets and events around Invercargill. “He became my inspiration,” Mr Listantyo acknowledges, adding he saw the change in his brother after studying at SIT and building a life in New Zealand. “He became a different person. I looked up to him so much.”
Mr Listantyo says he had already set up his life back home in Indonesia, working in construction. He didn’t know much about New Zealand, and was also thinking about going to Australia, but he made the right decision: “New Zealand was my choice.”
He discovered the importance of learning the practical side of the Quantity Surveyor’s role in his studies at SIT. “It’s not only the theoretical part that matters. It’s not university, it’s a Polytech,” and it’s about how to gain the practical learning, which they did through “seminars, site visits, trips to Dunedin and Queenstown,” he says, adding he enjoyed the variety.
Aside from class time, Mr Listantyo was busy making ends meet, working to support himself. “I didn’t spend much time on campus; I went to work after class.” The toughest part of achieving his degree was covering the costs involved in being an international student. “It’s hard to live as a student and for international students there are no Zero Fees. I needed to work really hard to make it work. I would not like to do it again,” he laughed.
He was grateful to his tutors for their support. “There are several architectural tutors and one Quantity Surveying tutor; the tutors really shaped my knowledge.” He’s also aware there are professional bodies in NZ’s community of Quantity Surveyors, such as The New Zealand Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NZIQS).
Now, not only has Mr Listantyo completed his degree, but he’s already in work using his Quantity Surveying training with local property maintenance services company, Phoenix Services Ltd. “My tutor, Kenny Soper, recommended me,” which was another huge help in connecting with the right people. And he loves the role. “Being an estimator, I become the first person to cost a build; it gives the full costs to the clients, so they know how to prepare for the project,” he explains.
“I’m the gate between contractor and client; if my estimates are accepted, the project goes ahead. I love numbers.”
Now the degree is completed and he’s working in his new vocation, Mr Listantyo can enjoy living in the south. “Invercargill is a slow-living city. There are no traffic jams. My house to the office is a six-minute commute. In Jakarta, it took one-and-a-half hours to reach my office.”
There is a big family event coming up over the Christmas break; Mr Listantyo is getting married, which means all his siblings, including Mr Prakarsa are going back to Indonesia for the celebrations.
Mr Listantyo is most proud of his academic achievements, receiving 16 A pluses (from 24 papers) over the course of his degree. “I feel like I’m a good student.” He also loves to implement the knowledge from SIT through working in the sector with locals who have helped him grow. “I love working in my company. I’m the only immigrant there and I practise my English every day.”
Similarly, Mr Prakarsa had a well-established life in Indonesia but was looking for a change. He and his wife, who have two sons aged eight and five, had worked in banking for 10 and 15 years respectively. “I worked as a mortgage banker,” he says and through this, he had knowledge about house builds and connections in the building industry, so, Quantity Surveying was a choice he felt most well suited to.
He appreciated and enjoyed his three years at SIT. “Our main subject was Measurement and Estimation, Number one and Number two, and we got a new tutor, Kenny Soper.” Apart from getting used to a different style of teaching, Mr Prakarsa described the new tutor as a good influence, who took them on numerous field trips in their final year. “Kenny had walked the path I was walking; I want to be an estimator because of [him].”
Mr Prakarsa also liked the variety of students he mixed with during his course. “In my class there were only six students - from China, Japan, and Indonesia (us). I made friends from China, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Kiwis. The multicultural thing really happens here.”
“The multicultural experience actually helps in settling here.”
Mr Prakarsa was happy with his academic performance, achieving 15 As over the three years of his degree. “B plus is my minimum standard now… Dimas might have done better than me because he’s still single,” he quipped, revealing it took some time and energy to care for his family when they moved here. “I was like a family counsellor, keeping my family happy.”
And that’s something he feels satisfaction with; his family have settled in well. His wife works in a food business. “My kids are happy here. They like school. Indonesian education is really hard. They’ve been given time to learn and not put under pressure.”
Along with the expected culture shock and related changes to living somewhere quite different to Indonesia, the most challenging aspect of the shift to New Zealand has been conquering English. “English is not my first language; it’s a really different accent from Kiwis; they speak really fast.”
To help fund his studies and support his family, Mr Prakarsa has been working in food businesses since arriving in Invercargill, and the plus has been how much it’s improved his language skills. “I worked at Dominos for three years. I’ve been at RE Burger in the mall for eight months. It’s helped to talk to people, serving people; it’s helped a lot,” he acknowledges.
One thing Mr Prakarsa is proud of from his study journey is tackling this new environment and succeeding. “I think I underestimated myself a little bit,” explaining initially for his studies, he would take the English material and translate it to Indonesian. “Now it’s kind of easy for me,” he confessed, and it’s changed his mindset. “Now I think I can do it. I’m better prepared to go into work.”
Mr Prakarsa acknowledges a transformation has taken place for him and his family over the last three years. He’s been successful in his studies, learned English and his wife and children are happy and settled as well. It’s a lot to be thankful for. They would have time to catch up with family over the summer as they celebrated Mr Listantyo’s marriage in Indonesia, then it was back home to Invercargill to look for jobs in the New Year. “My preference is to stay in Invercargill,” he says and that’s in no small part to the life he and his family have found here.
Both men agree their journey to seek education through SIT has been immensely successful, training and qualifying for a sector they enjoy, and one which provides a positive future for them and their families. Notably, they have embraced big changes and learned along the way; they’ve taken opportunities presented to them in Invercargill and worked hard to achieve both professionally and personally. It’s both a happy ending and beginning.