Technical Trainee and Scholarship Opportunities 
Technical Trainee Testimonials
Jeremy Stevens
Jeremy joined Airways as a Technical Trainee in 2006.
After completing his Bachelor of Engineering Technology degree, Jeremy headed to Laos for a year to a job he knew very little about, and ended up working in remote areas installing and repairing radio communication systems for Gold/Copper mines and for NGOs clearing bombs from the Vietnam War.
“As my contract was drawing to a close I decided I wanted to head back to NZ to find a job that would provide me with some career progression in an out-of-the-ordinary industry. I applied for a job as a Technical Trainee within Airways. This allowed me to get my foot in the door and soon they had me heading all over the country to some very interesting places. I was assisting and learning from other technical people within Airways.”
After completing his training, a position became available with the Technical Coordinators. Their main focus is the management of operational equipment like Radars, MUXs, VHF Radios and much much more. This gave Jeremy a great overview of the company and also allowed him to get into more installation work.
“I got involved in some awesome projects like the Queenstown Multilateration (surveillance) project where we spent the majority of our days flying into the mountains by helicopter to install large Multilat sites”.
Jeremy has also taken part in a project installing VHF radios and Voice Recorders throughout Queensland, Australia.
“I was lucky and got to spend three months working there in some of Australia’s most amazing holiday destinations.”
Jeremy has now moved into the Navigation Systems Engineering area of the company. In this role he will manage projects that involve the upgrading and installation of aeronautical navigation aids across New Zealand and the world.
“The people within Airways are great. I’ve flatted with three of them and made a lot of friends. They are all very friendly and helpful and this is what helps make Airways such a great place to work.”
Ben Petrie
Ben Petrie joined Airways in 2009 as a technical trainee in Christchurch.
Ben initially got to know about Airways through an interest in air traffic control and became curious about the technical side of what Airways does.
After having a chat with some of the people in the technical team he decided this was a career move he wanted to make.
“My previous jobs were in technical fields but not at this level and I didn’t feel they were really challenging me.
I got myself down to polytech and got the required qualifications, applied for a position as technical trainee and crossed my fingers.
Since being here I have really enjoyed the challenge and the variety of work involved in the job.
I get out to sites around the country and work in places I’d never see otherwise”.
Douglas McMillan
Douglas joined Airways Technical Trainee program in 2008 although his interest in aviation started much earlier while his family were posted in Toulouse, France - the aviation capital of Europe. Douglas went to AUT and completed a practical electrotechnology diploma before starting the Airways Trainee programme.
Douglas worked alongside the Auckland technical team out in the field, maintaining and repairing all the air navigation equipment in the north of the North Island. He also regularly attended equipment courses held by Airways.
“I enjoyed working with experienced technicians and working on the real equipment rather than in a classroom”.
In 2009 Douglas transferred to Christchurch where he has helped with the commissioning of Christchurch’s new control tower and travels around the South Island working on different equipment including Radar and Multilateration.
In 2010 Douglas was selected to go to Australia to install VHF radios with a team of other Airways technicians. “I really enjoy the variety, the opportunities we get at Airways and working with a great bunch of people who are enthusiastic about their job”.
To find out more about our Technical Trainee Programme, please email engcareers@airways.co.nz
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Trainee Snapshots
Ben Petrie joined Airways in 2009 as a technical trainee in Christchurch.
Ben initially got to know about Airways through an interest in air traffic control... read more >>
Jeremy joined Airways as a Technical Trainee in 2006.
After completing his Bachelor of Engineering Technology, Jeremy headed to Laos for a year to a job he knew very little about... read more >>
Douglas joined Airways’ Technical Trainee program in 2008 although his interest in aviation started much earlier while his family were posted in Toulouse, France - the aviation capital of Europe. read more >>
Other Careers at Airways
Like the Controllers, the Systems staff are also highly trained and professional employees. Airways recruits experienced and qualified engineers and technicians and then provides up to 18 months of in-house training and on-the-job experience to bring them up to speed with Airways' equipment and processes..