What's your job about?
Waka Kotahi is responsible for New Zealand’s transport system (all aspects of it) from the road safety barriers to the marketing and speed management of our roads. My current responsibility and role within Waka Kotahi are as an Emerging Professional in the ‘Safe and Sustainable Systems Team’ focusing on the communications aspect of the business.
If this sounds like a whole lot of big words (which it is, and I’ve only just fully figured out what everything means) then I will try explaining it again. Basically, I get to try and translate what the engineers, designers and very ‘technically-minded’ people within the organisation are doing into simple English that all of New Zealand can understand. This is my first rotation out of three within Waka Kotahi, so in a couple of months I will be switching out to do something completely different with a new bunch of managers and people to network with (this is what excited me most about the programme). Being an emerging professional at Waka Kotahi allows me to pick wherever I want to end up in the business next, from assisting with onsite engineering or design to educating children in schools about road safety etc. The role is so versatile and provides you with lots of freedom to learn about a business without having studied specific majors etc for a job.
What's your background?
I grew up in Auckland starting my primary years off at a local primary school (walking school bus to school, annual school fair and library book bags you name it)! My family then packed up our New Zealand lives and moved to Singapore for 4 years, which was one of the most life-changing, eye-opening and special experiences for an intermediate aged Morgan. I was back in Auckland for my senior years where I competed and represented New Zealand at the Cheerleading World Championships (so it was school and cheer every hour of the day, with not much room for anything else in my days).
I was informed that my university choice would not be in the same city as where my parents lived, so off to wellington I go! Cold, mouldy but an amazingly fun and rowdy time altogether (whilst learning some stuff of course). I spent three years at Victoria University ending up with my BCOM done mainly online and through a screen due to Covid. However cold it was, I wouldn’t change the experience for the world, the jobs that taught me resilience will be what stays with me the longest. From washing 300 dishes in one night to babysitting a little boy who thought throwing tin cans was a fun game, the variety of jobs did me a world of good.
I applied to become an Emerging Professional whilst applying for the thousands of other roles, with a lot of determination (to answer all the interviews, games and questions) I was given the opportunity to join this awesome role.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
My overall ‘Emerging Professionals’ role within Waka Kotahi is suitable for absolutely anyone with any skills to succeed! The rotational based nature of the role means that as long as you are willing to learn, work hard and ask questions you will find a place within the business that suits your background knowledge and skills.
My current rotation is a communications-based role, which may be a bit harder if you’re not interested in the marketing side of a business to stay focused and want to learn from the role. But in all honesty, anyone could do it because we all communicate daily. So, with a bit of thought, learning and grit you too could do my communications role!
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job is the graduate / emerging professional community that I get to grow with and learn alongside. It’s not every day that you have a job that involves getting directions from your ‘mature / older’ managers as well as being given a space and a different group of people who all are feeling the same as you (most of the time). Usually, you start a job by yourself, whereas in my role I got to start with a bunch of new friends and people who I knew were feeling just as nervous and out of place as I was.
What are the limitations of your job?
The limitations of my job are that it is a very seated, ‘at your desk’ based role with not much variety in day-to-day activities. Although the work and tasks change, they are all quite similar in their own ways (linking together documents or working with the same people). So, if you like your exercise, fresh air and hate aircon units then this isn’t the role for you.
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