Jake making waves in water treatment

Jake Hanshaw came to council in 2015 as a cadet looking forward to learning all about water treatment. But he didn't know that a short time later he'd be given the opportunity to step up to a role with a whole lot more responsibility.

Jake has spent the past two years learning everything about water treatment from scratch, and as a cadet Jake said his job was a daily learning experience.

"I was mostly working on plant maintenance and processes around water testing and I was always learning something new every day," he said.

After doing the hard yards as a cadet, Jake has recently taken on a role as one of our water treatment plant operators, ensuring our drinking water meets strict Drinking Water New Zealand standards.

Water and wastewater assistant manager Rich Kruse said Jake's ambition and drive to work hard and do well has seen him jump into a much more senior role within our water team.

"Being able to step up into a water treatment plant operator role is a credit to Jake and how he really exceeded our expectations as a cadet.

He listens and learns quickly and really fits in with the team, so we're pleased he's been able to make the move into this more senior role."

Jake is enjoying the challenge and recommended a cadetship as a great way to kick-start a career.

"My new operator role has a lot more responsibility but it's empowering that I have been given the skills to be trusted to do the job," he said. "A cadetship is definitely a good opportunity to get into a place where you can progress your career, and there are plenty of opportunities to learn on the job and gain qualifications while you work."

Now Jake has made the move to an operator role, our newest cadet is Huia Anderson, who is already impressing our team.