Ten young Auckland jobseekers will start work in Auckland’s thriving construction and infrastructure sector in the New Year having won work placements as part of the #BuildAKL industry recruitment campaign.
#BuildAKL is an interactive social media campaign which aims to get 4000 young Aucklanders into the sector within the next year.
Designed by leading industry employers and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), the #BuildAKL paid work experience competition attracted 600 competition entries since its launch in September at the at JobFest youth employment event.
ATEED chief executive Brett O’Riley says the ten winners, aged between 16 and 23 years, were selected from a short-list of 20 finalists, and will start their rotational job placements in mid-January next year.
“This is a unique opportunity for young people to learn first-hand about the diverse range of opportunities available within the rapidly growing construction and infrastructure sector, with work experience ranging from traffic to wastewater management, civil construction and project engineering,” he says.
“The #BuildAKL campaign aims to address a serious skills shortage within the sector by profiling the opportunities available with winners sharing their work experiences via Facebook @buildAKL and on the BuildAKL website, www.buildakl.co.nz,” Brett O’Riley says.
The four week work experience placements will be managed by recruitment company, AWF, with work experience provided by Fletcher Building, City Care, Downer, Hawkins Group, iTraffic and Watercare Services.
The 10 competition winners have received a free training package from AWF and the Solomon Group which included the Site Safe passport, traffic control training and training on resilience in the workplace.
| Winner | Age (years) | Employer | Rotational Work undertaken |
| David Faautaga (DJ) | 19 | Higgins, part of Fletcher Building | Roading, traffic and wastewater management, construction and engineering |
| Earl Pantaleon | 22 | Higgins, part of Fletcher Building | Roading, traffic and wastewater management, construction and engineering |
| Larissa Ramos | 17 | Watercare Services | Water and waste management, community engagement. |
| Samuel Quilter (Sam) | 23 | Watercare Services | Water and waste management, community engagement |
| Sebastian Reece (Seb) | 23 | Hawkins Group | High profile construction and buildings – 5a, CRL, Park-Hyatt – Wynyard Quarter. Rotations include Quantity Surveying, Site Operations , BIM, Tunnelling, Quantity Surveying, carpentry & welding |
| Lera Sepati | 17 | City Care | Maintenance, civil construction, parks, water and facilities management |
| Krithika Venkatesh | 21 | Downer | Rotations through ground sites in Auckland CRL or similar profile projects; Waiheke – travel on ferry with crew every day. Entry level roles in utilities, infrastructure and technology solutions |
| Barrett Caton (Baz) | 16 | Downer | Rotations through ground sites in Auckland CRL or similar profile projects; Waiheke – travel on ferry with crew every day. Entry level roles in utilities, infrastructure and technology solutions |
| Jasmine Witika | 17 | iTraffic | Traffic control, traffic management planning, real time operations, civil construction, sales, recruitment, business operations |
| Nayyir Muhammad (Nay) | 19 | iTraffic |
Traffic control, traffic management planning, real time operations, civil construction, sales, recruitment, business operations |