It is clear that the training never stops for St John ambulance volunteers.

In the six months since a group of new recruits began their induction they have become operational volunteers known as first responders.

Callum Cockerell, Jono Clayton and Carmon Lawson began their training with St John last year and their ultimate goal is the same, to become fulltime ambulance officers.

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*Reward in helping others for St John volunteers

Father of two, Cockerell previously spent five years as a volunteer before the birth of his children and he completed a re-induction to become an operational volunteer again once he had more time.

He has his sights set on becoming a fulltime ambulance officer, but recognises it will involve extensive training.

"You are always doing study, the paramedics they are continually studying, going off and doing courses and all sorts so you never stop learning," he says.

"I would love to work fulltime as an ambulance officer, but it's just training so maybe when I get back up to EMT or paramedic I will have a shot at going full ime," said Cockerell.

Cockerell says returning to the volunteer role, the job was much the same, but there were a lot of new faces and a bit more paperwork. It was still hard to know what each shift would bring. Quiet shifts could mean periods of boredom followed by short bursts of absolute panic.

"The type of job is the same, it doesn't matter where you are…when you go to a city like Christchurch or Auckland the volume of calls increases because there are more people, but it is the same."

Cockerell is doing two to three shifts a month; each is 12 hours long, with split shifts available in some instances.

"The sound of a pager going off is what we all wait for," said Cockerell.

"I have done three shifts since coming back where I have done absolutely no jobs, then I have had other shifts where you walk in the door and you walk straight back out and into the truck and you don't get back to the station until the end of the shift."

St John induction co-ordinator and emergency medical technician Chris Reidie says new recruits went through an interview process and fitness testing before being selected to begin the 12-week induction.

They then completed a manual handling and personal safety course, further training and a driving course to become operational.

Once their training was signed off they became second crew on a truck, getting practical experience on callouts.

Reidie says the induction and subsequent training is demanding, and as a result not everyone who started the training will go on to become operational.

Those who wanted to progress from first responders could move on to emergency medical technicians (EMT), which requires a national diploma in ambulance practice.

With further training the next level was paramedic, with the highest rank an intensive care paramedic.

Reidie said qualifying as a paramedic was a big commitment and those who made it wanted a job out of it.

"All the volunteers put a lot of time in, they have very patient family and friends that put up with it too," he said.

"Without them we would struggle."

While some volunteers kept studying to move up the ranks, "others are happy to stay where they are and do what they do".

In Nelson, the demand for fulltime paid positions was a lot higher than what was available as most people didn't leave until they retired.

In the past people had moved to Auckland and Christchurch to take up fulltime jobs as ambulance officers, said Reidie.

Fellow first responder Jono Clayton, 18, joined St John as a cadet and since then has progressed through the ranks, beginning his operational induction last October. In the past six months he has clocked up many hours at community and sports events including the Cricket World Cup, working alongside more experienced ambulance officers.

He plans to study a Bachelor of health science in paramedicine at Auckland University of Technology next year, and hopes to gain more experience as a first responder in the meantime.

"I've really discovered that this time that I am spending on the road or at events is really going to be helping me with practical experience before I get into my course," he said.

Clayton will continue training before his study begins and the next step will be to complete his driving course, once he has held his full driver's licence for 12 months.

After he has completed his degree, he will be eligible to apply for a paramedic role with St John.

First responder Carmon Lawson began her induction last June and said it was something she had long thought about. She saw an advertisement for volunteers and decided the time was right.

Since becoming operational, she says she has been lucky to have good shifts with good people.

"You get good shifts and horrible shifts, you do some really nasty jobs that make you appreciate life a lot."

"They are a pretty special bunch," she says of her fellow ambulance officers and the support and camaraderie between them.

While some shifts involved down-time at the station, Lawson says it enables volunteers to hit the books and study.

"The last jobs you have been on if you weren't sure what was going on or you don't understand something you pick someone's brain or you look it up in a book so the next time you get that job you have a little bit more knowledge."

"You see people at their worst and their most vulnerable and you would be pretty inhumane if it didn't get to you," Lawson says.

"They tell us you will probably find it is not the most horrendous job that will get you in the end it will be something really mundane that just triggers it for you."

Lawson says she would love to be a fulltime ambulance officer and she plans to start her national diploma to become an EMT towards the end of the year while her children are still young.

"It's just a matter of getting the qualifications under your belt."

Once she was qualified and her children were at school, she will consider applying for any opportunities that arose.

"It is just like any other job; you have to apply like everybody else."

St John territory manager Matt Wilkinson says four volunteer intake sessions are held annually, with the size of each depending on demand. There were eight people in the most recent intake, which was a sizeable number for the organisation.

Within the area that encompassed Collingwood, Rai Valley and Tapawera this side of the Takaka hill, there are 28 fulltime ambulance officers and a number of casual staff.

In the same area, there are nearly 100 volunteer ambulance officers which gave an indication of how integral they were to the service, Wilkinson says.

There are a variety of reasons people chose to join St John as volunteers, and also a number of different reasons as to why they might leave.

Some volunteers have been with the organisation for more than 30 years and others moved around the country and continued to volunteer at different stations.

"It is quite incredible what some people give to their community," Wilkinson says.

"From my perspective they serve a vital role in serving the community's needs."