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 …
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 …
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 …
Jarred Bird has recently received a L4 NZC Civil Works Qualification with strands in Road construction, Earthworks and Road Maintenance. As an owner and operator of Napier based Outdoor Solutions this national and formal recognition of his skills and knowledge will give him a great edge to seize future business opportunities and drive business growth. Jared says the qualification and …
Hawke’s Bay Civil Operations Manager Pearl Jury became the first woman to gain her Civil Trades certification, the nationally recognised accreditation programme for civil contractors in New Zealand. Pearl has more than 15 years’ experience with Gair Contracting in Napier, she loves working with heavy machinery, and the company is one of the few contracting companies in New Zealand led …
“I love everything about it,” says Rotorua pipeline worker Craig Hart about his chosen career. After 10 years constructing and maintaining water pipeline infrastructure in the Bay of Plenty, Craig, who works for Infracore, still loves the challenges of his job. “I think I’ve seen everything.” And now his skills and knowledge have been formally recognised with his completion of …
A career that began on rooftops almost 30 years ago has now seen Clayton Douglas scale the heights of pipeline construction and maintenance. While his work keeps his feet literally on and in the ground, Clayton has become the first Civil Infrastructure worker in New Zealand to be awarded Pipeline Construction & Maintenance in Water as well as Wastewater and …
When Amy Corston left school she had dreams of becoming a veterinary nurse – but her Dad had other ideas. Amy laughs, “He told me I needed to get a ‘real job’ and made me apply for a technical administration role with Opus.” Fast forward three years and Amy wouldn’t change a thing. As well as admin duties, she now …
