Girls with Hi-Vis visits EIT, sparks interest in power careers

Havelock North High School's Emersyn Franklin climbs a power pole during Unison's Girls with Hi-Vis event at EIT. Photo / Paul Taylor

"Girls with Hi-Vis" is sparking the interest of Hawke's Bay wāhine in becoming linewomen.

The Connexis Girls with Hi-Vis campaign arrived at the EIT campus on Thursday this week for a female-driven insight into the electrical trade hosted by Unison.

Fluorescent-frocked female students from across the region attended the event, which was aimed at getting more women into trades through hands-on experience.

Sylvia Ngaheu, a trainee lineworker for Unison, helped lead the activities and was herself recruited from a previous "Girls in Power" initiative.

While the day boasted the spectacle of wāhine scaling poles to rescue dummies in distress, it also allowed students to have a go at some of the everyday skills involved in linework.

Ngaheu coached the young women through a variety of skills, including crane and digger operation.

Ngaheu said she was there not only to show women what it's like to be a lineworker but that they can step into such male-dominated roles and industries.

"I'm here to empower us women and show that we can do just as much as men. If not more you know, that's our goal."

Ngaheu appreciates the multi-faceted nature of the work, which entails "keeping the power on, climbing power poles, operating heavy machinery, creating new lines, maintaining lines and driving trucks".

Attendees appreciated the chance to have a go at several of the tasks involved in the job.

Peata Kaio, a Year 13 student of Sacred Heart College, said she was grateful for the opportunity to get hands-on with the equipment because of an anxiety that "I could be good at the theory but not good at the actual job".

Kaio was first-up to operate the crane arm, with the challenge being to use the arm to pick up a small plastic bucket. Kaio aced the task, with Unison trade coach James Aranui commenting on her steady hands and quick knack for the controls.

Aranui hopes that Hawke's Bay will be the first to qualify an all-female, live-line crew, which may soon be a reality, with campaigns like these enabling wāhine to feel confident in power.