Mum of seven Antoinette Ranapia used to watch her dad and uncles with their heads under the hoods of cars in hometown Ōpōtiki, “tutuing” with the motors.

Those were the days when New Zealand was a country of do-it-yourselfers and most whānau had a backyard mechanic in the house.

“I grew up around men like dad, uncles, brothers who all knew about cars,” Antoinette told the Herald.

Now the 49-year-old nana of four is following in her dad’s tyre prints and has signed on for a two and a half year course in automotive engineering - to become a mechanic.

MIT and Unitec executive director Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga said student numbers for 2025 are up 8.9% on the same time last year – and Māori and Pasifika student numbers have increased even more: 9.9% at MIT and 9.3% at Unitec.

Antoinette (Whakatohea, Ngai Tamahaua) told the Herald she always wanted to be a mechanic, but motherhood brought different priorities.

Antoinette Ranapia (centre) with her seven children and three of her mokos.

But with two of her children no longer at home, and her marriage behind her, Ranapia decided it was time to take a leap and go back to school.

All her children - Justus 30, Genesis 25, Gabrielle 22, Ducati 19, Jaxon 15, Hope 12, Catherine 12, and her mokopuna Daesyn 7, Unity 6, Olivia 4, and Niklaus 2 - are right behind her, she said.

“I was doing traffic management working on the roads at nights, so I could still manage the children who were home,” Ranapia said.

“I pretty much know my basics like doing an oil change and changing tyres” she told the Herald.

“But my brothers know all about cars and I thought, why not me?

“Then I saw the course at MIT and thought - why not.

“The kids love that I’m back at school. We’ve had to tweak our schedule but they are very supportive of me.

Former National Party MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga is now executive director of MIT and Unitec. He told the Herald student numbers are up 8.9% on last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Lotu-Iiga said student numbers for the NZ Certificate of Automotive Engineering (Level 3) are up 10.5% this year.

“Our places [are] community hubs where people can learn skills and connect with industry in an environment that supports their overall wellbeing,” he said.

“We have a vital role to play ... to transition our communities towards high-value employment.”

And Ranapia’s goals have now exceeded being able to fix her own car. “I’d like to work on the big machinery, like they use in the mines in Australia,” she said.

Mum of 7 Antoinette Ranapia is studying to be a mechanic. Photo / Michael Craig.

Jay Kumar, deputy head of the MIT’s Automotive Engineering School, said Antoinette might be the oldest student in this years cohort of 200 students but she is not the oldest to have passed through the doors of its automotive engineering school.

He said most students are aged between 16-21, but the programme appeals to mature students like Ranapia because they can work three days a week while studying.

MIT deputy head of automotive engineering Jay Kumar.

“They can work, study, run their families, live a good life while upskilling” he said.

“Antoinette is a very good student and I am confident she will succeed.”

In 2021 a 61-yer-old Samoan man signed up for the course. “He said to me, life is short” said Kumar.

“After he graduated, he walked into an automotive workshop in Wiri not far from MIT to introduce himself and was hired on the spot.”

Antoinette Ranapia's automotive engineering course can fit with family life and part-time work. Photo / NZ Herald.