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 in 2011 to encourage women into the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI).

Nine years down the track, Robyn, now based in Auckland, is still working in the ESI and still with Northpower. She has recently taken a “step up” in her career, becoming a Design Estimator for larger projects including subdivisions.

Her entry into the sector was as a trainee “linesman” in Dargaville, when she saw a job advertised in the Northern Advocate, specifically requesting that women apply. Having struggled to find work in Northland despite having an IT degree, she decided to apply after a nudge from her dad.

“IT seemed pretty saturated at the time. You don’t have that issue in this industry.”

Her father was the one who finally convinced her, reassuring her that she could always leave if she was not enjoying it.

Instead, she found her passion. Not high above the ground on the overhead powerlines, but as a cable jointer, responsible for maintaining underground cables.

“I thought there were more opportunities in cable jointing, plus I was scared of heights and I just never got over that,” Robyn says.

“I prefer to have my feet on the ground.”

Female cable jointers are still quite rare but Robyn says she has never had issues with any of the men she works with.

“They treat you just the same; you’re just one of them. They call me ‘sis’.

“I think it helps that I just treat everyone the same. And I’ve never had a problem getting covered in dirt on the job or stuck in.”

Robyn says it can be funny confounding people’s gender expectations. She tells a story about working on a roadside transformer box.

“When I stepped out this drunk lady said: ‘Holy shit, you’re a woman! Good on you girl.’.”

All the same, Robyn says it does help knowing other women in the field who can provide support and she can have a “bitch and a cry” with. She says those women have become amazing friends.

These days, estimating pricing for larger connection projects, Robyn splits her time 80:20 between being in the office and out in the field. Though she has been in the ESI for several years now, she says there are still barriers to women entering the trades.

“It does need a bit of shake-up. Women are more than capable but…they go to uni instead because they haven’t even heard about trades,” she says.

That is a shame she says, because many of the men she has worked with see the benefits of having more women on the job.

“They say they’re nicer to work with, more detailed and less messy on the job, and they balance out a crew,” she says.

Robyn would love to see more women enter the industry going forward.

“The wages are good. You just have to be able to laugh at yourself and don’t take things too seriously. And you have to be prepared to start at the bottom and work your way up.”

The post Paving the way for women in power appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 school, she was working as a Farm Manager. Her career took a left turn when she was accepted for enrolment in a beauty therapy course, having already gained a ticket in eyelash extensions. However, a conversation with a friend who was a line mechanic with Electra took her off course yet again.

“He was just talking about what he did for his job, and I was quite intrigued. Thinking ‘I could get into that’”, says Madison. A job opening came up, Madison applied, and the rest is history.

Madison has now been with Electra for four years and has been a qualified line mechanic for over a year, having completed her NZ Certificate in Electricity Supply (Line Mechanic Distribution) Level 4.

Electra is New Zealand’s ninth largest lines company, covering the Kāpiti-Horowhenua region. It is this year’s host sponsor of Annual Connection, the three-day celebration of the Electricity Supply Industry run by Connexis.

Being the only female line mechanic at the company had some challenges initially, from what to do when you need to go to the toilet onsite, to building up her physical strength. But, she says, all along the way her male co-workers were supportive and encouraging.

“You are a bit shy when you start, so it would have been nice to have had another woman there to ask about some things, but in the end, you work it out for yourself,” she says.

When it came to building up her physical strength Madison credits her crew with letting her pace herself and helping her build her confidence.

“If I was initially finding something hard, they would really encourage me, telling me I was nearly there and to keep going. There was no-one being impatient or telling me to hurry up.

“I grew up farming, so I was pretty ‘farm fit’ but you still have to really do the job to get ‘job fit’. It only took me a month or two to build up the correct strength and fitness for this job”, she says.

“The first time I went up the pole I actually pulled up a cross arm [a heavy metal bar used for supporting electricity conductors]. I think that was one of the best things, because it really gave me the confidence that I could do it. But there was never any pressure that I had to do something.”

Madison is also famous at her depot for her organisational skills. She made it her mission to tidy up the trucks, so tools and equipment are easier to find, especially for trainees who are still learning.

“When you’re a trainee, someone asks you to find something like an HD14, but you don’t always know what it is. I was opening every drawer trying to find something that said HD14.

It was pretty hectic. But I fixed that. I went through all the trucks labelling and organising everything.”

Subsequent trainees have said her system helps them progress faster because they can identify equipment more easily.

These days Madison describes working with her all-male workmates as “fun and entertaining”. She also loves the variety her job offers, especially the chance to work outside and work in different locations.

“It’s kind of a lifestyle, rather than just a job.”

Madison is committed to a career in the Electricity Supply Industry and is excited by the opportunities and choices it offers.

“There are so many jobs I want to get into. It’s actually really hard to make a decision,” she says.

“I have been given so many opportunities at Electra.

In the short-term Madison is keen to experience working in the Control Room and has her eye on “giving Live-lining a go”. But in the meantime, she’s always looking for new training and learning opportunities.

“Once I finish something I get a bit fidgety. I always need to find something new to keep me going. I like to be learning.”

Her advice to anybody considering becoming a trainee in the industry is “just go for it!”.

“You’ll work with so many interesting people and you’ll meet a team of people on the block courses that you progress through your training with that you will become good mates with.”

Madison’s advice for any woman considering a career in the sector is to not be intimidated.

“It might feel a bit daunting at first, but you overcome the challenges and figure out the guys are fun to work with.”

The post It’s kind of a lifestyle, rather than just a job appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 scarce. “I’ve been qualified as an electrician for 4 years now and started off working in domestic houses.  I applied for the Electrix role by chance after the business I was working for closed down.

“I never thought I’d do this sort of work but I absolutely love it.  I’ve gained so many skills that I’d never imagined I’d have, as a female it’s a very rewarding and a confidence building experience.”

Tara’s interest in becoming an electrician stems back to her school days but due to the lack of information and guidance for women into this career path she waived it aside for a while. “I returned from my O/E, had no qualifications and was working in an office I hated it.  Some of my male friends had become builders and plumbers and loved it.  So I decided to become an electrician.  It appealed that I wouldn’t be stuck inside in an office all day and there was a good mix of ‘hands on’ work.”

The road forward in her chosen career wasn’t easy to begin with though for Tara but she persevered.  Tara felt that she wasn’t being taken seriously after being turned down for two apprenticeship jobs she applied, so she took a different approach.  “I decided to do my theory first so I studied full time for a year to get all my theory credits, which isn’t the way you usually do it, but it worked, and once I had that completed I was offered my first job as an electrician.

“I was the only female in the class.  I even got asked by one the guys doing the course if I was sure I was in the right place! I replied if this is the class for electricians, then yes I am. Even now people often think I’m an apprentice, but I’m not I’m fully qualified.”

While females don’t often choose an electrician as a career, it’s even rarer for women to be working in a distribution setting.  Tara’s day-to-day work involves working on housing sub-divisions installing underground cabling, which is then linked to the likes of transformers and underground pits to supply houses.

“We’ve just finished working on a massive shut down in Mt Roskill, there were 60 staff from Electrix there. We’d been working on transferring from overhead electricity supply to underground.  The day came when we changed it over, it was such an incredible environment, great to be involved and to see months of work finally put to the test,” Tara says.

The mother of one says that she loves being in distribution and wouldn’t go back to domestic work.  “There is so much to learn, every day I learn something new and challenge myself. I found it a bit daunting to start with but I work with an amazing team who are very supportive.

“As a team we’re good at working with each other’s strengths, as a female I obviously have physical limitations when it comes to heavy lifting.  If it’s too heavy for me one of the team doesn’t mind stepping in for me, I then do some of the paperwork so it all works out in the end.  The team environment is really empowering.”

Tara says that working in a mostly male environment has its challenges but her confidence is growing and is continuing to grow.  “I’d never picked up the likes of a drill before and I had to learn with all the eyes on me watching, it was hard.  It is one of the biggest challenges knowing you’re constantly being judged, but as time goes on your confidence grows and I now find it empowering.

“Often the guys just jump in without thinking, it’s instinctive I think at times.  Like when one of the trucks needed a tricky reversing manoeuvre and one of the team said he’d do it.  I said I would be fine and I was!”

Tara’s always been keen to get behind the wheel of a truck and is proud to say that she’s now licenced to drive Class 2 trucks, the biggest there are on the job.

Tara adds that she’s happy where she is at the moment but does have ambition for other roles within the electricity supply industry.  “Coming from domestic work, there’s so much to learn about distribution, so I’ll stay put for another couple of years at least before my next step.  That’s what’s great, there are definitely next steps, other jobs in the industry to aspire to, there’s a lot of different avenues to choose from which is great.”

And her advice to women considering joining the industry – “Just give it a go, take a chance, be ready to work hard, jump in and prove everyone wrong!”

The post “Just give it a go, take a chance, be ready to work hard, jump in and prove everyone wrong!” – Tara Treherne, Energy Supply Electrician appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 (CSAM) what qualification she could do next.

However, she says it was only once she got to the end of her training that she gained the perspective to appreciate what she had achieved and to see “how cool it was”.

“It has made me push to achieve what I want and [given me] a real sense of accomplishment. My family is very proud of what I have achieved.”

Kat’s trainee journey was never straightforward. Challenges mounted on challenges. Yet this determined young Māori woman always kept her eye on the opportunities her training would open her up to. She is a true believer in the benefit of a skilled up workforce and has become a champion of industry training in Ruatoria and neighbouring communities, a remote rural region of Gisborne.

Kat started out as a self-proclaimed “pen pusher” in her hometown of Wellington. Family eventually brought her to Gisborne where she got her first taste of Civil Infrastructure, working in the Fulton Hogan offices. After three years, Kat’s natural curiosity and thirst for learning led to her increasing dissatisfaction with her desk job. She had become interested in what was happening in the field and decided to see for herself, starting at what others perceived as the bottom as a traffic controller – to later appreciate that that was one of the most important jobs.

From that moment, Kat began work-based training, something she sees as a lifelong commitment. She earned her tickets to work on much of the heavy gear used in road maintenance and within four years was embarking on her Civil Apprenticeship with Connexis. Unable to decide between the optional strands of her qualification, and unwilling to narrow down her career options, Kat chose to do all four.

Kat says this was a new level of on-job learning. It was not easy for her, fitting training in between work and family life. “You just need to make time,” Kat says. There were many late nights and weekends, and some extensions to deadlines, she admits.

Kat credits her success to her Connexis Customer Service Account Manager, Grant Radovanovich.

“His support was the biggest thing. He’d put the pressure on, saying “tick tock tick tock”. That’s what I needed.”

Time was not the only challenge Kat faced during the years of her Apprenticeship. She was already juggling training with the demands of caring for her young daughter and working away a lot when she fell pregnant again.

In addition to this, she was changing employers. Kat was having to push to get the opportunities she needed to tick off credits. At times she had to take contract work, just to get her training finished.

Undaunted by the difficulties and spotting a gap in the market and a chance to find a permanent solution to her job woes, Kat moved back up the Coast two hours north of Gisborne, to Ruatoria, and launched her own business. She gained her Apprenticeship in December 2020 and was by then already managing a 20-strong workforce and taking her employees with her on the road to lifelong learning.

Tairāwhiti Contractors is made up of staff who are local to the East Coast. When starting the firm, Kat was committed to recruiting “fresh blood” to help plug the gap in skilled workers which has long been an issue for Civil Infrastructure, especially in rural regions like hers.

Her workforce is diverse. Nearly a quarter are women, and while they are mainly young people just starting out on their career path, she has some older workers too, who have switched from other industries.

Kat’s hope is that, once trained up, her employees will stay in the region and help build local capabilities beyond forestry and farming. The aim is to provide local solutions to local problems, and to help curb under-investment in the region by putting Civil Infrastructure in the East Coast on the map.

There are around 200km of state highway in this north-eastern corner of the North Island, with many more kilometres of smaller off-roads. Subsidence is also a big issue in this coastal region. Yet according to Kat, roading decisions are often made by companies two hours away in Gisborne, who do not necessarily understand the region’s unique challenges. Priorities can be misaligned; or work deferred because there is not enough accommodation to house crews coming in from other areas.

With help from the Provincial Development Unit (PDU), Kat has been expanding the competencies of her business, training her workers up from the basics of traffic management, to maintenance, and hopes eventually to move them into road contracting. She even labour-hires her staff on occasion to give them exposure to a wider range of projects and skills.

The next step for Kat is to earn a qualification in work-based training herself.

Kat might be finished with her Apprenticeship, but her career in Civil Infrastructure is still very much in progress. While she admits she has “no life” outside of the demands of her business and family, it is clear Kat would not have it any other way.

The post Stop-Go to CEO: Kat Kaiwai appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

A trainee line mechanic with Christchurch’s Independent Lines Services Alana loves the physicality and outdoor setting the job offers. “My dad Laurie has been a line mechanic forever and he inspired me to join the industry, he now works part time in the Independent Lines Services yard and is a professional firefighter,” Alana says.

“When I told him that I wanted to join the industry I think he was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to handle working with all the boys, but he knows me. I was also a furniture mover for six years with my sister and we were the only female so I’m used to breaking down perceptions in a male-dominated industry.

“The guys are great to work with, very supportive and understanding and they have a great sense of humour, we all work as a team. They don’t treat me any differently to the rest of the crew.

“To start with I felt the pressure of being the only woman and I struggled a bit with it at first, but once I got to know the guys and we clicked it was fine. They understand me and step up and help if I need it, I also ask lots of questions.”

Always preferring physical and hands-on work, because she struggles with the written aspect, the hands-on electricity supply industry is a perfect career choice for Alana. “My first job was in healthcare, but the money wasn’t very good so I looked around for something else. I started with Independent Lines Services helping out with the Annual Connection competition, driving a fork lift, digging holes and doing other jobs. After that I was offered a contract with civil for 6 months in wheels trucks and rollers.

“I then made a choice between overhead and underground and went with overhead as it’s more physical and I like that. Every day is different and you’re never in the same spot. One of the best things about my job is that I’m outside every day.”

Alana’s work involves day to day maintenance of power lines, with some fault work if her crew is needed. “We went to a job the other day where a huge macrocarpa tree had fallen on some lines and damaged them, that was exciting.”

Two and half years down the track as a trainee line mechanic Alana is determined to become fully qualified. “I’ve done all my on-the-job training and study and had my finals last week, my paperwork let me down so it’s back to the drawing board, but I’m not worried I’ll get there. Once I qualify it will be a huge accomplishment for me, especially since I struggle with the written part.”

What’s next for Alana’s career? She isn’t sure yet. “I still have a lot to learn. Even the guys who have been in the job for three years say that there’s still lots to learn.

“I love working for Independent Lines, they’re a great company to work for, they really look after me.”

And Alana’s advice to women looking for a career in the industry is to go for it. “I love meeting and seeing other women in the industry. It’s a good steady career with lots of job options.”

“Women bring a whole different skill set and perspective to the job – including being gentler on the crane controls!” she laughs.

In her spare time Alana continues with her love of the outdoors enjoying bush walks with her partner, and on a Sunday you’ll find her spiking her adrenalin rush and racing a street stock car with her sister, helped by the rest of the family as the pit crew.

The post Alana – the woman who’s happiest perched on the top of a power pole at a Line Mechanic appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 you. As a Connexis Ultimit Ambassador, Caitlin is keen to open women’s eyes to the opportunities outside of the usual career pathways.

One of the biggest pluses of the work she does now, she says, is that it is in high demand. With the on-job training that is offered, she adds, employers are looking for workers who are keen to learn, not just those who already have experience on their CVs.

Caitlin found her lack of work experience straight out of university a major barrier. Years of studying for a degree proved to be no guarantee of a job. The market is full of ultra-qualified people, she says, but work experience is the clincher.

“I always seemed to be one rung under where I needed to be.”

She had to resort to accepting unpaid work experience, filling her spare hours with three part-time paid jobs outside of her field.

The other risk you take when you choose the university path, Caitlin says, is that when you do start working, you may find it is not what you want to do after all.

That is the situation Caitlin found herself in, becoming increasingly disenchanted with the lab-based research she was qualified for.

Lucky for her, early on in her job search she did a month’s volunteering for DCC in the Water Treatment division. This opened her eyes to a new direction her career could take.

“I saw there was so much more out there, beyond academia. It was absolutely fabulous…nothing like anything else I’d ever done previously.”

She said it was the blend of lab work and getting your hands dirty that sold it to her; being able to see the country and do something different every day.

“You weren’t stuck in your four walls.”

While that month of work experience made a deep impression on Caitlin, she clearly made her mark too. A year later, she was given a “heads up” about a job coming up within the division and jumped at the opportunity.

Caitlin has been with DCC for five years now and her enthusiasm for what she does is as strong as ever. The jobs her role entails is too long and varied to list but includes, as she says, “a little bit of everything”; electrical, mechanical, investigation, book work, vehicle and equipment maintenance, project management, building.

“You can’t plan anything. You’re winging it every day, never sure what will turn up.”

She has not left academia behind entirely either, making full use of the opportunities to train up within her job.

So far, she has achieved an apprenticeship and the New Zealand Certificate in Drinking-Water Treatment (Level 4). Now she is working towards her Level 5 Diploma in Drinking-Water Treatment. She figures she will probably move on to a Level 6 qualification after that.

Caitlin loves the training component of her job.

“Vocational training makes it so much easier to grasp concepts compared to academic study in a classroom. You’re not learning anything that’s non-essential. What you’re learning about is right between your hands and you’re using it in the moment. You can grasp it with all your senses.”

“I should have been doing this all along.”

It helps that Caitlin’s employer, DCC, sees the value of training and encourages its workers to keep skilling up, especially when its around health and safety. She describes herself as “trained up to the eyeballs” and says this gives her the confidence to do her job well.

Caitlin does not find it hard fitting all this training into her work life. She laughs that doing full-time work and part-time study is much easier, and better paid, than doing the reverse, as she had been doing throughout her university years.

“The evidence gathering and knowledge base is easily gained on-the-job and the theory is often online and easily done at home. And work sometimes provides time off for study.”

Caitlin also finds time to pursue her passions outside of work, heading into the hills with her hiking club or friends, often up to two nights a week. She considers anywhere within three hours drive of Dunedin fair game.

“Nothing stops you from doing what you enjoy.”

Work often helps with these treks into the bush too. Caitlin carries a cup on her belt and can tell just by looking at a river, pond or puddle whether the water is safe to drink.

Her job has also enabled her to pay off her “huge” student loan, racked up during her time at university; paid for overseas travel; and allows her to buy “all the treats”, which for Caitlin means top-of-the-line tramping gear.

Caitlin “highly recommends” the trades as a career choice for anyone wanting to avoid the humdrum of an office, and who wants balance and variety in their job.

To women considering a future in Infrastructure, Caitlin says there is plenty of room for women in the industries of Water, Energy, Civil and Telco. They can bring a stronger work ethic, she says, with better time management. Women also look and think about things differently, Caitlin says, are more open to collaboration and taking on others’ ideas, and can be more willing to try new methods and technics.

She adds that now is a great time to give the trades a go. Free Trades Training (aka TTAF, the Targeted Training and Apprenticeship Fund) makes apprenticeships and most on-job training free and is generating a surge in recruitment and vocational learning in Infrastructure.

Reforms in Caitlin’s industry, Water, are also creating demand for new recruits and giving urgency to a backlog of projects.

Once you are in the door “you’re away and off with unlimited pathways to choose from” says Caitlin.

“Supervisor, team leader, manager, engineer, project management. It doesn’t stop. There’s no roof over your head. It’s amazing to see where people end up.”

Where does she see herself ending up? Long term, taking her skills to Antarctica is on her bucket list. Right now however, she is content where she is and has no plans to go anywhere.

“I drive to work happy every day. Who can say that?”

The post Caitlin Robertson – Keeping life interesting and water safe and clean appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 a breakdown by decision-makers to understand the needs of this rural north eastern corner of the North Island, Kat sees opportunity and a chance to provide local solutions to local problems.

New to the Connexis Ultimit Ambassador programme in 2021, Kat completed her apprenticeship in Civil Infrastructure at the end of last year after starting in the industry 12 years ago. Before that, Kat was a self-proclaimed “pen pusher” in Wellington.

Family eventually brought her to Gisborne and her entrance into Civil Infrastructure, working in the Fulton Hogan offices. After three years, Kat’s interest in the industry had grown and she was no longer satisfied with her desk job. She asked for a position in the field and was told to “start at the bottom” as a traffic controller.

She did not take long to work her way up though, and after 7 years embarked on a NZ Apprenticeship in Infrastructure Works (Civil).

To her Connexis Customer Service Account Manager (CSAM) Grant Radovanovich, Kat stands out. For one thing, she did not just do an optional strand of her qualification; she did all four. Working with Kat through the four years of her qualification, Grant describes her as a “rock star” who succeeded despite the circumstances.

“She has bounced around a few companies due to [them] closing down, losing contracts. She also had a baby and…[set] up her own company.”

Kat is now Managing Director of Tairāwhiti Contractors and employs around 20 people, all from the local area and new to the roading industry. Her focus from the start has been to bring people into the industry and train them up, rather than “poaching” them from other Civil firms. That way, Kat hopes to fill a regional skills gap and provide jobs and capabilities beyond forestry and farming.

Kat sees industry training as the key to building her business and unlocking opportunities in the region. By investing in her people, training them up from the basics of traffic management, to maintenance, and eventually road contracting, she says she can expand the competencies of her business and do work that usually requires crews to come in from outside the region.

Although Kat had earned her tickets to work on much of the heavy gear used in road maintenance, embarking on a Civil apprenticeship was a new level of on-job training for her. It was not easy, she says, fitting training in between work and family life. There were many late nights and weekends, she says, and some extensions to deadlines.

Kat credits her success to her CSAM Grant. “His support was the biggest thing. He’d put the pressure on, saying “tick tock tick tock”. That’s what I needed.”

Earning her apprenticeship was a proud day for Kat and her family. Once the tears dried up though, she was looking for her next challenge and has now set her sights on becoming a trainer herself.

Kat’s preference for training up her staff over recruiting experienced workers is more than just about building local capabilities. She wants “fresh blood” in the industry, to bring diversity and new ideas. This includes a focus on hiring women.

Nearly a quarter of Kat’s 20-strong staff are women and she says they bring real benefits to her business. She firmly believes women are just as capable as men and they offer a fresh perspective which often results in greater efficiencies. “They often seem like they’re doing jobs slower; not in a mad rush like the guys often are. But they plan things out, find quicker ways of doing things, and often get them done just as fast.”

Would she recommend Civil Infrastructure as a career to other women? “Absolutely,” Kat says. She says she loves her profession and the ability to make things out of earth. “I used to just see a road but now I see all the many components of it.”

She also emphasises the many career paths open to people in the industry. “You can go anywhere.”

Kat does not imagine her seven-year-old daughter will follow her into the industry though. “She wants to be a princess,” Kat says.

The post Paving Road to Success – Kat Kaiwai appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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, is what it takes to make it, she says.

And Laisa should know. She has worked in infrastructure for the past 21 years and was one of the first women to be recruited under the Women in Power initiative, now known as Ultimit: Women in Infrastructure, which turns 10 this year.

That is not to say she was always the assertive, self-assured woman she is today. She says she was the quiet one in the family. But being one of five girls and one boy, there was never any question of her holding back because of her gender.

Laisa was working with her hands from an early age, doing DIY with her grandfather in Fiji. After leaving school she worked at a timber processing plant – the only female among 200 employees.

She met some friends who offered to sponsor her to come to New Zealand. She took up the opportunity and moved with her young daughter. She got an opening to work in the Civil Infrastructure industry thru some close family and friends. This gave her an entrance into the infrastructure industry, starting at the bottom of the heap as a labourer.

Always with a thirst for learning and an eye on the next challenge, Laisa progressed through the ranks and after 12 years was driving 50–tonne diggers, running construction sites and training up new workers.

As with anything, with highs, you can expect lows and during that time, she experienced some hardship. With the economy in a downturn and job security within the civil industry at a significant low, she was made redundant for a few months due to the lack of work. At the same time, she was also going through a bitter divorce and lost everything including her home. She found herself flatting and living on the kindness of her friends and family. As the work picked up again, her previous employer contacted her and asked if she wanted a job operating again, which she happily accepted. Once back working full time, she started to re-evaluate the longevity of her work life in this industry and how she could better herself so that when the earthmoving season ended, she wouldn’t be on the chopping block again. At this time, she met her now-husband who encouraged her to gain qualifications. His son had just completed his training as a Line Mechanic at Electrix and had nothing but good things to say about the job and the training.

This led to an interest in line mechanics, and when an opportunity with Electrix came up she grabbed it with both hands. Laisa saw the potential to further upskill without the financial burden of full-time university study – something that was previously out of the question with a young family to provide for.

Laisa has been working in electricity supply for seven years now and has been earning while she learns ever since.

The highpoint of her training was when she took out top honours at the 2015 Annual Connection, the highlight of the electricity supply calendar. That year, Laisa was part of the first female team ever to compete at the event. She said being crowned Connexis Trainee of the Year was a welcome recognition of the hard work she had put into her apprenticeship over the previous two years.

It is easy to imagine that success comes easily to Laisa. She is now one of a small elite of glove and barrier line mechanics and one of the first females in this dangerous, high-voltage live line specialism. But to get to where she is today has taken her over 20 years, a commitment to hard work and self-learning, and a belief in the importance of sharing knowledge and best practice. Her spare room plastered with notes and photos, off limits to the rest of her family throughout her apprenticeship, is testament to the seriousness with which she takes her training.

Outdated gender stereotypes have also been something she has encountered over the years. While Laisa describes her co-workers as a “really good bunch” she said some comments, more from people on the street than from within the industry, can be “frustrating”. Her skin has got a lot thicker from working in the field and she stresses the need to be “straight up”.

The industry has opened its eyes to the benefits of having more women on the payroll, helped along by pioneers like Laisa. The skills they have brought to the industry have led many companies to actively recruit women. Of the eight apprentices taken on by Electrix in Laisa’s cohort, nearly half were women. Electrix has also set up a mentoring programme, where female trainees are paired up with women that are already established within the industry.

This shift is for good reason Laisa believes. She says women bring a fresh perspective, challenging the old ideas and helping to devise more efficient, safer ways of doing things. She also thinks they bring a greater emphasis on emotional wellbeing, something that was lacking in the industry previously.

Laisa believes the industry has a lot to offer women as well. She has always had a love of the outdoors and through her job has had the chance to travel extensively, to beautiful and often remote spots. She also loves that she has met and made friends with such a wide range of people, many of whom she would never have come across outside of the industry. There are so many career paths open to people in the industry too, Laisa says, with a chance to move into management roles later in your career.

And don’t be put off if you’re not physically big or strong. New, safer practices that encourage teamwork and the use of machinery are one of the changes that has come as more women enter the industry, Laisa says. What you do need, she says, is a network of like-minded people that you can go to when you need emotional, not physical, support.

The post High Voltage Career – Laisa Pickering appeared first on Connexis | Infrastructure Training.

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 at heart,” is how she describes herself.

Angie never started out with her current job in mind. She has just said “yes” to opportunities as they came and followed wherever her interests led her. Being both sporty and academic meant walking a path that challenged her mind and body, from working on long-term energy sustainability projects to inspecting power station boilers.

Born and bred in Free State, South Africa, Angie liked school and always enjoyed learning new skills. While at high school, her mother organised for her to do a site tour of the petrochemical plant she worked at as a personal assistant. Angie came away intrigued and excited. She was blown away by the idea that you can take natural resources to create something entirely new.

This led Angie to university and a five-year degree in Chemical Engineering. While there, she also did vocational work at Eskom, a state-owned electricity utility. After graduating, Angie got a job at the same utility, where she stayed for four years until the opportunity arose for her and her husband to relocate to New Zealand.

Angie and her husband, also a Mechanical Engineer, have worked for Genesis Energy since 2018 and have been making the most of both the ‘work and play’ sides of their lives ever since.

Taking full advantage of the flexible workhours at Genesis, they enjoy touring the country, usually with their bikes in tow. A highlight was their trip to the South Island, where Angie fell in love with Christchurch. They are also grateful for the fact their jobs allow them to save for a house something which will become a higher priority should they have children.

Genesis has opened doors for Angie on a professional level too, and she is excited to have a platform for causes that are important to her. She has a Certificate in Business Sustainability Management from Cambridge University and is using her knowledge to promote energy efficiency in the Asset Strategy Team. Genesis Energy announced plans in late 2020 to develop more renewable electricity generation, and cut its annual carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2025. It aims to do this via substantial investment in solar, wind and geothermal projects as part of its vision to “empower New Zealand’s sustainable future.”

She is also involved in Girls in Hi-Vis, a Connexis initiative to introduce high schoolers to the industry, which is happily returning in 2021 after being postponed in 2020 due to Covid. There is always at least one girl with a spark in her eye at the end of these events, according to Angie. One is enough, she says, to have an impact on the industry. Last year too, Angie took part in Women in Energy, which took place online during lockdown. These programmes are an attempt by the industry to address the systemic barriers to recruiting women.

Despite being a champion of women in infrastructure, Angie plays down the obstacles she has faced in her career. Her parents empowered her to believe there were no limits to her potential, and she was not going to let fear hold her back. She admits her first day working in a Power Station was intimidating but says it is those scary experiences that bring the biggest rewards.

To anyone thinking about a career in infrastructure, Angie echoes the words of fellow Ultimit Ambassador Laisa Pickering: “Go for it”.

“Take all opportunities and don’t be afraid,” she says. She also acknowledges that many women fear making mistakes. “You don’t have to know it all,” she says.

“Trust your gut.”

The energy industry is moving away from old ideas about gender roles and working hard to open doors to women. In 2018, Genesis embarked upon a new programme to reduce the gender pay gap, reducing it to just 1.4% in 2020 for males and females doing equal value work. Angie says it is heartening to see the industry ‘walking the talk’ in this respect, although she admits it was bittersweet. While it made her feel valued and appreciated, she says women should never be paid less in the first place, regardless of industry. She stresses though the need to look forward and not get caught up in past inequities. She also urges women not to use perceived gender biases as an excuse to dismiss an infrastructure career.

Where to next for this inspirational young woman? Wherever the opportunities lie, according to Angie. She plans to keep saying “yes” (discerningly, of course) and it will only be on reflection that she will be able to pinpoint the pivotal moments that moved her career forward.

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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 still “pretty macho” industry.

It is not merely the fact that Danielle is a woman that has made her a standout in the electricity supply industry. She has qualities that are more unique to her.

One of which is a deep confidence in her own abilities. Even when she is plunged into a new role, Danielle knows she will figure out what is required soon enough.

The first day of Danielle’s apprenticeship, for example, was nerve-wracking, she says. “You show up…and you’re not sure what they’re going to ask you to do.” But she trusted in herself, asked the right questions and quickly learned the skills to get the job done.

She does not take all the credit here though. She says having a great support, in her case a tradesman named Stephen, was central to her success. He took the time to explain why things are done the way they are, she says. He was “patient…really kind and thorough”, knew the rules and shared best practice. “He set me up for success.”

Danielle is also impulsive, being directed along her career path by instinct more than intention.

Born and raised in Auckland, she was a good student and because of this, she was never asked what she would like to do with her future. The question instead was: “What will you do at uni?”. So she started a BA/ BCom and hated it.

After dropping out, her mother urged her to gain a qualification, so Danielle started a trades course at UniTech “out of the blue”. From there she began asking around for an apprenticeship and eventually found a position at Electrix.

It took six years of on-job and self-learning for Danielle to work her way up to her current role. “I never thought of learning a trade until I was doing it,” she says. Now, she says she “wouldn’t do anything else”.

What Danielle loves about her job most of all is the variety. She is not one for doing the same thing day after day and enjoys the chance to experience different aspects of the job including project work, fault finding and equipment maintenance.

She also appreciates the financial benefits of a trade career.. While getting qualified, Danielle was able to save a little every week and paid off the student loan she racked up during her university and Unitech study.

Over the years her salary has improved, enabling her to travel and even buy a house. Danielle describes her new home as “nothing much” but admits it is still a feat for someone of her age to buy into the Auckland property market.

Danielle is decisive and assertive – a combination that has got her far in her career. “I see something and decide I want it.” There is no other plan, she says. Once she has fixed her sights on her next career step, she finds the right person and starts asking. Somehow, the answer is always eventually “yes”, Danielle says.

Danielle does not believe she has experienced any prejudice in her career because she is a women. She describes her colleagues as “really nice dudes” who treat her the same as they treat each other.

She acknowledges that the industry is “still pretty macho”, but believes the influx of younger workers, further spurred by the Free Trades Training currently available, is helping change the working environment. Change is also being led by the corporate side of companies, Danielle says, and that then flows into the field teams.

She believes women can be a real asset to employers, bringing a stronger focus on precision and planning. They are more focused and organised, she says, and are better at listening and working collaboratively.

She says there are no special skills required to work in Infrastructure. She firmly believes there is “nothing special” about herself or the other women who work in the industry. “Anyone can do any job” if you put in the effort to listen, watch and learn, she says. This is certainly the attitude she has brought to her own career.

Just two years into her current role, Danielle is already planning her next move. She has set her sights on the HVDC Inter-Island link, better known as the Cook Strait cable, which connects the electricity networks of the North and South Islands. Not one for self-doubt, she is fairly confident of her chances.

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