Pathways from school

Due in part to Schools’ tendency to focus on academic results and pathways to university, students with an aptitude for roles within the ES industry are largely unaware of the opportunities and industry pathways that exist for them today.

Apprenticeship pathways

On the whole, career pathways are not accessible or understood by young employees and apprentices – even inside organisations that are succeeding in designing and developing pathway programmes. Apprentices exhibited an absolute focus on ‘just getting their ticket’, without acquiring a wider knowledge of the possibilities available to them after doing so.

Navigating pathways

When exploring friction within the current industry pathways, communication was a central, recurring theme. At present, pathways are inconsistent across the industry, and are shrouded in complex language, nomenclature, terminologies, frameworks, capabilities, competencies and qualifications – creating a complicated scaffold for the uninitiated to assess and navigate.

Guiding pathways and retention

Eco-systems and support networks were described as vital for a positive apprenticeship experience. There is evidence inside the sector of ‘game-changing’ support networks that allow apprentices to actively build professional workplace confidence. These systems also ensure the apprentice’s well-being is being actively met in terms of balancing the demands of work and study.

Family matters

The majority of people researched were found to have entered the electricity sector through a family member’s encouragement, or other personal connections. These people likely had exposure to the industry when they were young, or had ‘people on the inside’ who were able to connect them to opportunities, arrange apprenticeships, or help to navigate their pathways throughout the qualification journey

Community connections

The electricity sector offers its employees the unique ability to live and work locally, in both urban and rural communities, for life. The reality of being able to remain in your home region, while still progressing into a high-quality career, is a dynamic and attractive value proposition. Because of this, employees in the electricity sector feel as though they are part of the growth and progression of their local industry and community.

Working Abroad

When it comes to pursuing international industry opportunities, the appeal of large salaries is the primary value proposition leading people to look outside of New Zealand. This is described as a central retention challenge, as New Zealand’s industry skill sets are highly transferable to other economies. The perception is that the largest salaries are available in Australia, due to its volume of capital works and primary industries activity.