Jordan Witehira - Graduate 2019
As a University student I researched various Graduate Programmes in different industries, and found Transpower’s programme to be very unique and interesting.
As a Mechanical Engineer I enjoy building, creating and designing big things. At the time I thought "What's a bigger thing than New Zealand's national power grid?" So, in early 2019, I started the graduate programme.
Since then I have lived in 5 different cities, both North and South, and have been fortunate to travel around New Zealand while working - seeing new landscapes along the way.
My work is definitely interesting. I have been involved in designing power supply plans for local iwi, investigating public electrical risks across the entire national grid, and upgrading power lines in the South Island to enable sufficient transmission to the North Island.
I have gained experience in Project Management, which has taught me the importance of money, time, forecasting, and communication between different parties, and Tactical Engineering where I’ve learned how to work within a large engineering team. The team ranges from ex-Graduates to Senior Principal Engineers and everyone is happy to share their knowledge and experience with me. Our Engineering Consultants have taught me the value of responsibility and ownership over my own technical work.
Now, with my Graduate programme coming to an end, I am on a career path that I know I’ll be happy with. There are many directions that I can pursue in the Power industry, both now and in the future, and I know that all of them will allow me to develop and grow professionally.
From my experience, if you're looking to make a difference - somewhere, somehow - Transpower does this well with New Zealand's best interest in mind