Being able to work outside is one of the things Wiremu Te Tawhero loves most about being a trainee line mechanic for King Country-based The Lines Company. But what he hadn’t considered before starting with the company’s Taumarunui depot is that for a line mechanic, ‘outside’ can mean being up in the hills, in a helicopter, or up a pole …
When Robyn Dawes qualified as a cable jointer for Northpower in 2013 at age 25, she was one of the first two women in Northland to do so. She was also one of the first to get qualified with her NZ Certificate in Electricity Supply (Cable Jointing High Voltage) under the Ultimit – Women in Infrastructure initiative; launched by Connexis …
A giant leap from beauty therapist to line mechanic Planning a career switch from the farming industry, Madison commenced an application for beauty therapy training. So, becoming a line mechanic might seem like a big leap, but Madison Harvey has never looked back. Now aged 22, Madison is a qualified line mechanic with Electra, based in Horowhenua. When she left …
Operating a crane and driving a truck certainly weren’t skills that Connexis Ultimit Ambassador Tara Treherne ever imagined would be in her career repertoire, but they are. The Auckland based 30-year-old stepped outside the traditional career box for women to begin with by becoming a domestic electrician and now works for Electrix in energy supply where women are even more …
Alana Welsh is happiest perched on the top of a power pole out in the fresh country air taking in the sweeping views across the Christchurch landscape and out to the peninsula. And it’s all in a day’s work for her. A trainee line mechanic with Christchurch’s Independent Lines Services Alana loves the physicality and outdoor setting the job offers. …
“Give it a go” is the advice to women considering a future in infrastructure from Connexis Ultimit Ambassador Laisa Pickering. A high-voltage live line mechanic at Electrix, Laisa says many of the barriers that make working in the industry difficult for women are more a perception than a reality. Confidence in your own abilities and skills, and not brute strength, …
For Genesis Energy Mechanical Engineer Angie Du Randt, working in energy and infrastructure has opened the door to opportunities to live abroad and pursue a passion for mountain biking. As one of our new Connexis Ultimit Ambassadors, Angie shows that work enables play and that your personality defines your career and not the other way around. “Engineer by trade, cyclist …
Not being constrained by “dude rules” frees you up to be who you want to be and to do your job better, says Connexis Ultimit Ambassador Danielle Forman, a Power Systems Technician at Electrix. Danielle, a new recruit to the Connexis Ultimit Ambassador programme, argues that in some ways it is easier being a female in this male, and often …
A career in an industry with loads of variety was high on the wish-list for Invercargill’s Symarah Bennett-Young. And it’s something her role as an apprentice substation maintainer at PowerNet is serving up in spades. Symarah, 22, got her first taste of the industry when she was 15 – taking an electronics class at Southland Girls’ High School, where she …
Genesis Energy is currently working hard to put together the company’s 2018 GWHV event at Tokaanu Power Station in the central North Island. It’s the second year the company has participated in the GWHV programme, which aims to provide insight into the career opportunities for young women that lie in infrastructure industries. Opportunities they may not be aware of otherwise. …
