Wheeler, who has degrees in civil engineering and chemical engineering, says the graduate programme gave him a greater understanding of the industry.
"It definitely accelerated my progress. I went back to university later in life, and had an interest in renewable energy. Meridian's commitment to this is what attracted me to the company."
Wheeler did his master's in civil engineering at Canterbury University. He says two years in the programme gave him the equivalent of five to 10 years of experience in the field and allowed him to get experience in various areas in the company with six-monthly rotations in places such as Wellington, Christchurch and Twizel.
"It was very good experience - some rotations were more in the field, others were more office-bound. What you pursue depends on your interests. Meridian has certain avenues that they want you to see, but there is discussion of what your desires are and your programme is organised in accordance to that."
Graduate recruitment manager Liz Martin says the programme is "an effective way to invest in the future expertise of our company and our industry by offering new graduates the opportunity to help build on their skills and talent through exposure to real roles". She adds: "The three-year programme provides them with a range of experiences that help plug future skills gaps both within Meridian and the wider energy sector. This programme fits with our company's vision to be a global reference company in renewable energy as we recruit, shape and strive for excellence."
She says the company is confident that the programme is working for it.
"We measure our success through a range of factors, including the number of graduates placed in permanent engineering positions with Meridian, as well as feedback from our executive team and senior managers regarding their confidence in the graduate talent pipeline. To date, 85 per cent of our graduates have identified career paths within Meridian and been confirmed into permanent roles."
Meridian projects engineer Grant Thomson completed the graduate programme two-and-a-half years ago.
"My focus in university was renewable energy - particularly looking at wind energy."
He says the programme didn't only help him work within his specialisation, but also to get a general view of what the company did.
"I also worked in various areas of New Zealand - it helped me get to know what's going on around the country."
His path within the programme was renewable energy, something he believes New Zealand has a leading role in. "There's definitely a great future in this field."
He says the graduate programme gave him lots of opportunities to find his specialisation.
"Such a programme is getting more and more important. The people behind the construction of the infrastructure of this industry are going to be retiring. The graduate programme helps to transmit valuable knowledge and experience to the next generation to ensure that the right skills are ready for future challenges."
Of his passion, Thomson says: "Renewable energy is a vital area - it's about the necessities of life: food, water and energy. The whole world is going renewable and it's wonderful to be with a company that's part of that."
Another of the companies that run graduate programmes is Telecom, which has a leadership development programme, an accounting programme, and a technical engineering programme.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Fergussen, who went through the programme herself, says: "Telecom invests in these programmes as graduates bring a fresh outlook on the business, a great deal of energy and a willingness to learn."
She adds, however: "At this point in time we have decided to put our Leadership Development Programme on hold, as our business model is undergoing significant changes in response to the Government's ultra-fast broadband initiative.
"Given that the shape of our company will change over the next 12 months, right now our focus is on addressing specific capability gaps through our accounting and engineering programmes."
ANZ runs an 18 to 24-month graduate programme where participants complete a minimum of three six-month rotations within an ANZ division or function, says general manager of human resources, Felicity Evans.
"We look for people who are driven to perform and achieve excellence; who are innovative, work collaboratively and who are likely to deliver a high-quality service for all our customers.
"Students need to have completed/be completing their undergraduate or postgraduate studies in 2009, 2010 or 2011 and have at least a 65 per cent grade point average."
Evans says ANZ's graduate programme is an opportunity "for us to really grow and develop our talent from the outset, providing a number of career opportunities and pathways".
For the company, the programme "can give us an ongoing pipeline of talented, keen and motivated staff who one day may have roles as senior leaders of the company".
"ANZ is a global company, so we can give our top performers opportunities to work offshore within the bank and then return home with the wealth of experience they have gathered," Evans says.
