Girls with Hi-Vis® is well underway and has been getting national attention with an article in the New Zealand Herald.
On Friday 11 June, the NZ Herald ran a feature on the Girls with Hi-Vis® (GWHV) initiative and the value women can bring to the infrastructure industries. Read the article here, including a profile of Ultimit Ambassador Kat Kaiwai of Tairāwhiti Contractors.
Three GWHV events have been successfully run so far, and a further 20 are scheduled in throughout the remainder of June.
GWHV kicked off on 3 June in Hamilton, where Beca hosted 10 girls for a tour of the Hamilton Expressway Project. Students got to see the elements of road construction first hand and heard about the different aspects of the project, including storm water treatment, project management and road construction.
Two further events were held on 9 June.
Downer took 12 girls through Transmission Gully, exploring different aspects of the project and showing how they come together. They also showcased some of the more challenging aspects of the build including a road and bridge that are 80 metres off the ground.
HEB Construction held the first of their seven country-wide events in Hamilton, where students learned about the Waikato River’s Peacocke Bridge project. The on-site ecologist explained the environmental management aspects of the project, including rehoming native skinks and bats. He even had two Copper skink lizards he had found just before the event kicked off. Students also got to see the huge stabilizing piles positioned on the river’s edge.
All of the events have given female students the chance to hear from women in infrastructure, who have shared their career journeys and their passion for the industry. We look forward to the rest of our events and hope we can continue to inspire more young women to consider a future in infrastructure.
Remaining events include Powerco, Downer, Genesis, Connetics, Meridian and Citycare, in locations including Auckland, Wellington, New Plymouth, Turangi, Ruatoria and Christchurch.
Follow the GWHV events on Facebook and Instagram, @ConnexisITO.
