The highlight of Katareina Kaiwai’s four-year journey to achieve her Civil Infrastructure Apprenticeship was getting it finished. That is not to say that Kat, who now runs her own roading firm, Tairāwhiti Contractors, did not enjoy her training. In fact, one of the first things she did after completing her Apprenticeship was to ask her Connexis Customer Service Account Manager …
A Bachelor of Science majoring in Pharmacology led to over a year of voluntary lab work and a juggle of part time jobs before Caitlin Robertson found her niche in Water Treatment. Caitlin, a Water Treatment Technician for Dunedin City Council (DCC), says just because you are smart does not mean university or a life in academia is right for …
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. …
A Bachelor of Science majoring in Pharmacology led to over a year of voluntary lab work and a juggle of part time jobs before Caitlin Robertson found her niche in Water Treatment. Caitlin, a Water Treatment Technician for Dunedin City Council (DCC), says just because you are smart does not mean university or a life in academia is right for …
Katareina Kaiwai wants change. And what this determined young Māori woman wants, she tends to get. As one of the few female business owners in Civil Construction in the East Coast region, based in a remote town two hours north of Gisborne, she is a champion of women, her industry, and her region. Where there is, she believes, underinvestment and …
“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 …
Outstanding Individual award-winner Allison Endemann says the fields of infrastructure and contracting offer plenty of scope for women. It is an established fact every field of work has its own fascination – and in the case of Allison Endemann of Higgins Contractors, the thing she is passionate about is asphalt. Yes, asphalt, the surface we all drive and walk …
Connexis trade qualifications are tangible proof that you really do have the skills to do what you do, says New Zealand’s first holder of Forestry Earthworks and Civil Trade Certificates. At the Eastland Wood Council Forestry Awards earlier in the year, a biennial event in Gisborne that celebrates achievement and excellence in the New Zealand forestry industry, John Broughton of …
