Lisa’s career well on track

Lisa McKinlay started off building grass karts at school - now she’s helping build passenger carriages for KiwiRail.

At 17 she’s landed an apprenticeship at Hillside Engineering in Dunedin, a division of KiwiRail, working on major projects like a $63 million contract to rebuild carriages for the Auckland commuter network.

The firm also has a $39.9 million contract to build 17 new carriages for the Tranz Scenic rail routes.

Lisa had to compete against 64 other applicants for the job, but she had the background to succeed - including using Tools4Work resources at high school.

At just 14, Lisa decided she wanted to get into engineering like her father, so she took up metalwork at Taieri College and got involved in the school team that competed at the Otago Southland Grass Kart Challenge.

“I started off building grass karts with my dad, and then built a trailer for one, and welding and putting stuff just together just grew from there,” she says.

Lisa also got valuable work experience through the Gateway programme, and completed a two-year Trade Academy programme while at college.

She says being one of the few female engineering apprentices is “cool” but she doesn’t expect any favours.

“The guys in the workplace have respect for skill and hard work, and to gain that it doesn’t matter if you’re a guy or a girl,” she says. “I knew from the start it was an industry that was dominated by men, but times have changed and there’s no reason why more women shouldn’t get into it.”

Hillside Engineering has nearly 200 staff, and while Lisa is the only female among 17 apprentices there are two other women working on the factory floor.

Skills Manager Donald Ross says Lisa has settled in well and the work is giving her an appreciation of what heavy fabrication involves.

“It’s a busy place with a lot of projects going on, and our apprentices also get the benefit of working with some very experienced staff.”

For more information about Tools4Work, the schools programme developed by Competenz, contact Brian Lane on 09 539 9817 or 027 243 7367.

(Pictured above - Lisa McKinlay works on an undercarriage section at KiwiRail's Hillside Engineering workshop in Dunedin, as part of her on-the-job apprenticeship training).