Recruitment roundabout for transport talent

Three key players in the transport sector have joined forces to build their engineering workforce and develop robust career paths for top local students.

North Shore City Council, GHD NZ-Pacific and Fulton Hogan Contracting today signed a Memorandum of Understanding [MOU], all agreeing to hire engineering graduates who will work for each organisation on an annual rotation basis.

The council’s signatory, chief executive John Brockies, joined GHD’s NZ-Pacific general manager Barry Potter and Fulton Hogan’s chief executive Lindsay Crossen in sealing the deal.

“In a tight labour market employers must be innovative and realistic,” Mr Brockies says.

“There’s a better way than each of us being stalled at the employment intersection. We’ve thought outside that square and opted for a recruitment roundabout where, instead of competing for scarce resources, we will share and grow the talent pool.

“We’re all professional services organisations which need to identify and nurture essential skills and careers at the outset.

“Today I met two of the new recruits, both of whom studied at North Shore schools, and feel sure that we’re investing in outstanding talents,” he says.

Browns Bay resident Richard de Witt will join North Shore City Council next January. The former Rosmini College student is sitting his final year Bachelor of Engineering exams this month.

Castor Bay resident and Westlake old boy Mark Youngs will start work with Fulton Hogan in January 2007 and join North Shore City a year later.

The third graduate has yet to be formally appointed by GHD.

A similar tripartite arrangement, involving Manukau City Council, GHD and Fulton Hogan, has been working effectively for two years. The all-round professional experience gained during the three-year bonded contract ensures IPENZ [Institute of Professional Engineers of New Zealand] accreditation for participants.

North Shore City Council, an IPENZ-endorsed employer, is confident that the ‘grow your own’, employee-share deal will work well north of the bridge.

The council’s infrastructure services division introduced its first graduate programme in 2004, recruiting transport engineers to be mentored by experienced professionals.

Ken Lui, Kimdon Nguyen and Shaun Kay have proven their worth within two years of graduating with civil engineering degrees from Auckland University. Messrs Lui and Nguyen are currently studying towards their Masters in Engineering [Transportation] degrees.

North Shore City Council has a staff of 1100 in total, which report to John Brockies, covering professional disciplines ranging from arboriculture, water, transport, parks and libraries to environmental services.

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