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It's June already...
...and the first rugby test is out of the way, and a win!
More important for the water industry is that we have been busy delivering treatment and reticulation qualifications and have noted the following:
- The revision of the treatment qualifications in 2007 have been well received by our students although the provider has been almost overwhelmed with the revision of existing and preparation of new training material and assessments.
- Class sizes are up by 20-25 percent on the water and wastewater treatment courses this year, which is a good signal that our Industry is investing in development of skills and capacity.
- We are getting a wider range of students in regard to age, some much younger, and some with very little initial experience with many students only just arriving in the industry. Modern apprentices with Water Industry Training are also now appearing on our qualification courses.
Our workforce in the water industry is ageing and as they leave they take with them knowledge and experience that is extremely valuable and hard to replace. The point noted above on the increase in students in 2008 is positive for our industry.
Something different
Something different from NZWETA has been the provision of in-house training courses arranged specifically for a single client. In this newsletter we feature Tasman District Council who recently hosted our Advanced Stormwater Management course for 25 employees and several consultants. This was organised at the request of Jeff Cuthbertson, Utilities Asset Manager, and Sonya Leusink-Sladen, Consulting Planner. Both Jeff and Sonya advise that it was an extremely worthwhile exercise.
Jeff said that the course was “useful as it brought all sections of the Council together for learning and discussion on the same topic. A future outcome will be a change in engineering standards to more environmentally aware stormwater methods”.
Other comments from course attendees were:
“Quite the most riveting and engaging 2 day workshop I’ve ever been on, with a great blend of technical and philosophic commentary”.
“Well polished presentation. Good pictures and diagrams. Thoroughly catered for planners, engineers and scientists – well done to cater for such a diverse interest ... very practical and immediately able to be implemented”.
“Inspiring and knowledgeable presentation delivered with a passion for the course content”.
“Brought together people from different sections of the Council. Fostered recognition that all land, especially that managed by Council, has multiple functions, e.g. roads are not just for traffic”
Short course programme
We are now into our short course programme for the year with many opportunities for professional development over the range of courses we offer. Have a look; there may be something suitable for you, or your organisation in professional development and addressing skill deficiencies.
Jonathan Mackey
NZWETA Manager
What’s coming up?
Principles and Trends in Water or Wastewater Treatment
This course has been a stable in the industry for more than 10 years and has been successful at covering fundamentals of water or wastewater treatment sciences and processes. Attendees have come from a wide range of backgrounds such as compliance and consents officers, treatment plant operators, environmental and health protection officers, industry suppliers, and asset managers.
It has also been an important training opportunity for new environmental engineers who have attended this course since its inception. The course has limited spaces available with the first coming up in Wellington on 30 June 2008. For more details visit the Principles and Trends of Water Treatment or Waste Water Treatment pages on our site.
Concrete Pipe
NZWETA and the Concrete Pipe Association of Australasia (CPAA) with pipe manufacturers Humes and Hynds are pleased to be offering again this year the Concrete Pipe laying course which covers standards, preparation and work organisation, foundation and bedding and jointing and laying concrete pipes.
While of benefit to experience pipe layers, this course is essential learning for less experienced workers, supervisors, suppliers, consultants and those involved with design, and construction supervision. Also, if you are supervising concrete pipe laying projects then you really should be attending this course. For more details visit the Conrete Pipelaying page on our site.
Stormwater Management
This is a popular two-day course aimed at stormwater, roading, and graduate engineers, or anyone new to stormwater which offers a comprehensive range of topics and practical examples in Stormwater Management. This course has also been popular with planners and consenting officers as offering professional development opportunities.
The course is being offered in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in 2008. The first course in Christchurch is only just around the corner. For more details visit the Stormwater Management page on our site.
New courses
 NZWETA will now be delivering PE Pipe Welding courses commencing in August.
This will be to unit standards, a key change for the PE welding industry. This article gives a background to the development of the unit standards and outline of the training (see article on NZWETA PE pipe welding course).
A programme with dates and venues is still being developed so watch this space. An extract of the training material is provided here.
The National Certificate of Reticulation, Level 4, Supervisor is on the NZWETA programme. A pilot in Nelson 17-19 June 2008 will establish the first block of training.
Those wishing to find out more about this training should contact Graeme.Sawyer@waterit.org.nz
Industry Review
NZWETA has commissioned a review of the future training needs in the industry. This review was completed by Rob Blakemore from Opus International Consultants and was based on 35 open discussions with a wide cross sector of water industry employers.
Importantly, this gives a view of the water industry requirements over the next 5-10 years. This will be published in the July addition of the NZWWA Journal. We will put the full article on our website and review it in the next e-Newsletter. Watch this space.
IPENZ members
For IPENZ members you can also check out our courses being offered through the IPENZ website. Check them out under www.ipenz.org.nz, education & career /seminars and conferences.
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