Work Experience at the Wastewater Treatment Plant

Kadie Smith from Sacred Heart Girls’ College got first-hand experience of science in the real world when she completed work experience through the Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Gateway Programme at New Plymouth District Council’s Wastewater Treatment Plant last term.

“I found my time of work experience at the Wastewater Treatment plant extremely valuable as it taught me a lot about what the industry is actually like. I got to see how the chemistry I learn at school is actually applied to the real world, and it opened my eyes to a whole new industry,” says Kadie.

“I was able to work alongside others in a lab which gives me a good feel for what they do day-to-day. This has proven an extremely valuable experience for me as it has sparked more interest in my future career path as a chemical engineer.

Not only was she able to see the relevance of her school work to jobs, but she also got to use put her ‘essential skills’ to work.

“This experience enabled me to have conversations in the workforce with different people from different backgrounds around what they have done from their degrees till today, and about all the types of jobs available. These conversations are crucial to students like me as we have no understanding of what the jobs we are interested in are actually like.