Hillside
Who Works There?
Worker (Click to enlarge)
A range of industries is represented in the workforce: foundry operation, shop machine operation, fitting, maintenance and diagnostics, fabrication, traditional boiler makers, welding. Hillside operates a modern apprenticeship system and aims to develop National certificate Level 4 trades people under New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) competency recognition. 20 people are engaged at Level 2 in 2007 with 12 – 14 apprentices doing Level 4.
Work at Hillside emphasises numeracy skills and some apprentices go back to do school level maths.
Kevin notes that Hillside is trying to create an opportunity for young people to have a crack at engineering. The company runs careers seminar days with polytechnics and industries, where they'll have a key speaker talking about the engineering industry. The aim is to get students sufficiently interested so that they'll follow up the information and perhaps seek work experience or a placement opportunity. Hillside is very involved in the Dunedin engineering cluster, an important recruitment group.
Welding a carriage (Click to enlarge)
While railways have traditionally had a male workforce Hillside currently has two women involved in heavy fabrication areas.
Engineers as well as trades people are needed, plus project managers (who often come from a trade background) and finance and clerical staff. Procurement is a specialist area as this involves spending lots of money nationally and internationally on components or self assembled manufacturing products.
Because there is heavy electrical work, detailed small electronic work and big mechanical stuff a whole range of good all round people is needed. Vehicle and prototype development consultant Albert Bossward says "we need people with a passion for the industry because it is really interesting. You can say trains aren't interesting but have anyone standing next to a large coal train that goes past with four 3,000 horse power locos on and they're impressed!"
