“I’m learning a lot from my studies, but I’m learning way more in the workplace.”

That’s according to Grace Mitchell, a university student returning to Taupō for the summer.

Grace, who is studying for a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and conservation, is one of many students taking on roles with Taupō District Council over summer. She says the practical experience has been invaluable.

“I’m learning from people, from doing. I get way more out of this than I do from articles and textbooks. I’m a practical, hands-on learner.”

Every year Council offers meaningful work to secondary and tertiary learners through the summer student programme.

Summer employees have the opportunity for a taste of local government in various areas. Engineering, lifeguarding, customer service, and parks and reserves are just some of the areas where students can gain valuable experience.

Engineering student Jaundre Pienaar is on board as a student working in three waters and infrastructure and is enjoying the real-life aspects of engineering.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot so far. I’ve been picking up the lingo, leaning about how it works in business. It’s interesting seeing how [infrastructure facilities] work, how they’re designed, meeting the people that work there.

“There’s a lot more business management than I expected, a lot more working with other people, less design work. I’ve been learning a lot of soft skills and people skills in this job like communication, making sure we’re all on the same page. Those are really important to get anything done.”

Student - Taupō Library Sam Stretton is spending her holidays back home after a year in Auckland studying occupational therapy. This isn’t her first rodeo as a Taupō District Council employee.

“I worked here last summer from November to February. It’s good being back. The timing of these jobs has been absolutely perfect for being a student.

“This role is a little bit different from what I hope to be doing after university, but the customer service skills are going to be useful later.”

Grace, Jaundre and Sam’s messages to students looking for summer work with Taupō District Council are to make the most of it.

“Everyone’s lovely, so just get stuck in and help out. It’s worth it,” Sam says.

“It’s great, you get to do something different every day,” Grace says.

“A lot of students don’t think they’re good enough to go to big businesses, they think they’ll wait until after uni. I say try it as soon as possible to get the experience, don’t wait. You learn so much just from being around the people in an organisation like this,” Jaundre says.

While the majority of available positions have been filled for this year, summer student roles begin to be advertised from October on the career section of council’s website: www.taupodc.govt.nz/council/careers.

© Scoop Media