Taupō District Council senior operator serviceperson asset renewals Huia-Rose Anderson is a trainee who loves her job and the skills she is gaining along the way. Photo / Supplied
Taupō District Council senior operator serviceperson asset renewals Huia-Rose Anderson is a trainee who loves her job and the skills she is gaining along the way. Photo / Supplied
This month World Water Day commemorated 'all things water' and the vital role water plays in our everyday life – which we often take for granted.
Turning on the tap in the morning to fill up the jug for a cup of tea, having a shower, turning on the washingmachine, washing the car or simply drinking a glass of water are all part of everyday life.
It takes a big team to keep New Zealand's water flowing and World Water Day is also the time to celebrate the workers in the water industry who keep things ticking over smoothly.
Connexis, the infrastructure business division of Te Pūkenga Work Based Learning, trains the water industry workers, providing on-the-job training - and Taupō-based Huia-Rose Anderson is a trainee who loves her job and the skills she is gaining along the way.
Huia-Rose shares a snapshot of her working day as Taupō District Council senior operator serviceperson asset renewals.
Tell us about your job with the Taupō District Council I assist with the management of assessing all equipment for water and wastewater treatment plants, to ensure it is reconditioned or replaced within its lifespan/maximise its lifespan, ensuring this is done before equipment failure whilst complying with all regulations of the industry.
What do you love most about your job? The variety of work – no two days are the same! I could be installing water treatment equipment in a water plant one day, doing routine maintenance at any of the three pools we look after, or working on a wastewater upgrade job.
Huia-Rose Anderson assists with the management of assessing all equipment for water and wastewater treatment plants. Photo / Supplied
I love the challenges that come with the role and the problem-solving. Holding a level of responsibility keeps me on my toes and it's always good to help others wherever needed.
Why is your job important to your community and/or New Zealand? Being a water treatment operator means you are responsible for delivering safe, potable, and compliant drinking water to the community, so public health is first and foremost the primary importance.
It means you are responsible for the health and safety of the environment. A lot of responsibility comes with being either a water or wastewater operator – with responsibility comes challenges but also many rewarding factors.
My role is important because I am responsible for renewing assets and upgrading equipment to ensure plants' continuity and efficiency – a lot of planning and organising goes on behind the scenes.
Huia-Rose Anderson says she enjoys challenging herself at work. Photo / Supplied
What attracted you to the industry? It was something different from my usual labour-intensive jobs in the past - also being a stay-at-home mum for a while, I wanted to get back into fulltime work. My course tutor at the time said I had potential, so I thought I'd give it a go.
How are you finding the training with Connexis? I'm on my last pre-assessment workbook of the NZ Certificate in wastewater treatment L4 – then I have my onsite assessment walk-through at the Taupō wastewater treatment plant with the assessor and I am then completed.
For me, computers are one of my background skills – so online training I find easy and enjoyable, some units that are challenging I would prefer in a class – but overall it's good.
The Connexis team have always been helpful and quick to respond to emails and phone calls and provided a list of the units and the person assessing those particular units – so we could directly contact that assessor to help with any queries.
My next training goal would be to complete my water treatment diploma.
