Waikato Business News August/September 2023

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8 Fund launch marks 20 years of Waikato Engineering Careers Association 1. 2. More than 100 engineering leaders, educators and supporters gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Waikato Engineering Careers Association at the University of Waikato’s impressive new The Pā recently. 3. 4. The occasion was marked with the launch of a new Waikato Engineering Education Fund, focusing on innovation, diversity and equity in the sector. Hanga-Aro-Rau, the Workforce Development Council for Manufacturing Engineering and Logistics, is applauding the launch, with the sector’s skills shortage set to grow by 38 per cent to 40,000 workers by 2028 if immediate action is not taken. The council’s chief executive Phil Alexander-Crawford, who attended WECA celebrations, says WECA’s fund spearheads a direct regional response to the shortage, supporting innovation and underrepresented groups in our community. “This approach is hugely encouraging for our sector as Aotearoa faces critical skills shortage. Women are a major source of untapped talent and are a big part of the solution and we are also fortunate to have a growing Māori and Pacific WECA Life Member nominee Roger Evans and General Manager Mary Jensen cut the cake. Event organisers Destiny Iraia and Monique Aitchison of FutureForce® Careers Hub with Sally Birch, Mary Jensen and Maddie Walker of WECA. community. These people are increasingly essential for creating an innovative and skilled workforce,” Alexander-Crawford says. WECA general manager Mary Jensen says marking the 20-year milestone was a way to celebrate the strong foundations of the region’s engineering sector. The association was founded in 2003 to combat disconnection between the tertiary education system and employers, who were struggling to work together to build a workforce. “Before WECA was established, engineering and manufacturing was somewhat a hidden industry. WECA has been able to bring our sector to life for young people. It’s paid off, with those who have been involved for 20 years still around today – testament to the fact that training and growing your own workforce from the ground up grows strong businesses,” Jensen says. WECA was the brainchild of Roger Evans of Stafford Engineering, a long-time proponent of skills development in the region’s business. Evans was nominated for a WECA Life Membership at the celebration. “Roger, and those like him have been a strong employer voice and generous crusader for better skills and training in our region.” Jensen says in two decades the WECA team has attended more than 60 Careers Expos, spoken to 1000s of young people, built websites, facilitated work placements, and lobbied on behalf of the sector. “We’ve advocated for members, including seven years on the Waikato Labour Market Forum and, more recently, supporting Pam Roa of Longveld in her role with the Regional Skills Leadership Group. Our members have also profiled more than 100 young engineers across a broad spectrum of roles in the regional careers resource, FutureForce Careers Hub.” Jensen also represents the region – and WECA - on the Industry Stakeholder Group for Hanga-Aro-Rau, the workforce development council. The Waikato Engineering Education Fund will be managed by Momentum Waikato Community Foundation and is primarily for scholarships for trainees, apprentices, and professionals in the Waikato engineering sector, with a focus on innovation, equity and diversity. To donate: www.momentumwaikato.nz/donate. WECA’s 20th Anniversary Celebration was supported by Vulcan, Beca, University of Waikato, Wintec – Te Pūkenga, Hanga-Aro-Rau and FutureForce Careers Hub. 5. 7. 9. 11. 6. 8. 10. 12. 1. WECA originals Lou Ewington, Steve Andrew, Bruce Howatt and Roger Evans, Stafford Engineering. 2. A great crowd celebrating WECA’s 20th anniversary at the University of Waikato Pā. | 3. The crew from Vulcan, Jason Merrie, John Teuru, Geoff Maisey, Dean McGovern and Rod Hagan with WECA Chair Mike Welten. | 4. University of Waikato Professor Janis Swan, Wintec – Te Pūkenga’s Trudy Harris and Smart Waikato’s Kris Anderson. | 5. WECA Board Member Mike Duke, of University of Waikato, and John Gallagher of Gallagher Group. | 6. Pam Roa of Longveld and Janice Lapwood of Momentum Waikato. | 7. Owen Embling of Convex, Shelley Wilson of Wintec - Te Pūkenga and Longo Takataka of Longveld. | 8. David Hallett of Company-X, Rosie Spragg of Te Waka, Les Roa of Longveld and Keith Gallagher of Gallagher Group. 9. University of Waikato Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Alister Jones telling the story of The Pā. |10. Graeme King of Mainline and Dean McGovern of Vulcan. | 11. The JP Marshall crew Alex Mowles, Marcus Heayns, Adrian Marshall and Blair Ussher. | 12. WECA Manager Sally Birch, University of Waikato Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor Alister Jones and WECA original Lou Ewington. | 13. Beca’s Vinal Kumar, Iona Young and Richard Douch with University of Waikato’s Jess Vanxay. | 14. Dave Stuart of Stafford Engineering, Mike Welten WECA Chair, Peter Wilkinson of Wilkinson Transport Engineers and Roger Evans. | 15. Raffle winner David Hallett of Company-X and Monique Aitchison of FutureForce® Careers Hub. | 16. Hanga-Aro-Rau Chief Executive Phil Alexander-Crawford, WECA General Manager Mary Jensen and Hanga-Aro-Rau’s Hagen Tautari. 13. 15. 14. 16.
Get connected to Electric Vehicles – the smart way. ews If you’re out and about on any New Zealand road these days, and you’ll likely see Electric Vehicles (EVs). They’re becoming quite commonplace on our roads, and there’s a good chance that we may have helped a few of those get up and running! That’s because as the world shifts to using more sustainable energy sources, we’re using our energy experience and practical insights to help businesses make the move to EVs – for good. Using our experience and smart infrastructure ideas, we help put businesses on the road to sustainability faster, smarter and at just the right price. Because of this We.EV has seized the opportunity to lead the way in supporting businesses to transition their fleets to EVs by investigating, designing, installing and provide an end-to-end solution to meet the customers’ needs to minimise costs now and into the future. Community owned, our vision is simple; to help businesses shape a better, more renewable future We guide and support businesses who want to make the shift to EVs with specific plans and infrastructure that’s flexible, costeffective, and can expand as your EV fleet does. From accurate advice to on-the-ground planning, every customer we work with has unique needs and goals. So whether your fleet of EVs is large or small, or you’re even just at the early stages of thinking about it – it pays to talk to the local experts first. How to get started on your EV transformation So, you can make the change once, and do it properly, there are a number of things you’ll need to look at, says Craig Marshall, Head of We.EV. He explains it should start with good advice before you start laying cables. “There are a lot of people out there who are keen to help with suggestions and hardware. But it all starts with solid advice that simply comes from handson experience. We’ve been working with energy for decades. And we’ve seen cases where clients were told to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, when in fact they needed nothing of the sort for their usage.” So, if you’re ready to make the smarter EV infrastructure choice and you’re ready to take your sustainability goals up a gear – get in touch with the EV experts. 0800 800 935 | we-ev.co.nz Driving brighter business futures. From advice and planning to design and build, We.EV helps businesses become future-ready with their Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure. So whether your fleet of EVs is large or small, or you’re even just thinking about it – it pays to talk to the local experts first. we-ev.co.nz
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Waikato Business News August/September 2023

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