Courtney – Senior Faults Coordinator
Courtney started with Aurora Energy in the Customer Experience team before setting and achieving her goal of becoming a Senior Faults Coordinator in our Network Control team. Courtney is the first woman to qualify with a New Zealand Certificate Electricity Supply (Network Control) Level 4.
Find out more about Courtney's journey in an article originally published by Connexis and shared below with permission.
Courtney – Senior Faults Coordinator
Power your dreams
Source: Powering dreams as a Senior Faults Coordinator » Connexis | Infrastructure Training
“Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Even if it is a male-dominated area, you won’t know if you can do it unless you give it a go.”
That’s the advice from Courtney Olds, a 29-year-old senior faults coordinator for Aurora Energy in Dunedin and Central Otago who knows just what it’s like to tackle something completely new to you. She’s been so good at it, she’s the first woman to qualify with a New Zealand Certificate Electricity Supply (Network Control) Level 4 having completed her training through Connexis.
Two-and-a-half years ago Courtney was working with Aurora as a customer service administrator when she was asked to learn to issue work authorities on the network. It piqued her interest in pursuing a role with the company’s network operations team.
“It wasn’t as overwhelming as I thought it would be. I remember my first day at Aurora six years ago, seeing the system that they used and thinking I could never do that job.
“Here I am now, doing exactly that job,” she says.
The biggest challenge for Courtney so far has been that she started the role without an electrical background, “so it can take me a little bit longer to pick up on some of the switching and operations within the network”. Aside from that Courtney hasn’t looked back, making the most of the training and support she’s received on her road to qualification.
“One of the highlights has been having a supportive and patient team around me to help me, and encourage me to push myself to keep learning and progressing with my training.”
As a senior faults coordinator it is Courtney’s job to monitor and manage faults with tasks including: issuing issue work authorities and restricted area entry permits; dispatching faults to a contractor and monitoring them so they’re attended in a timely manner; closing fault reports once completed; writing up switching for planned outages, issuing live line permits on the network and assisting network controllers in running switching with contractors.
“I love the challenge this role brings. Having come from an administrative role with no electrical background means there’s been a lot to learn, but no two days are ever the same.” Courtney says, who plans to continue her training to become a full-time network controller.
“Through the training I’ve enjoyed the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in the electrical industry, and the new systems I’m now confident in using.
“It means a lot to me to accomplish being the first woman to achieve this qualification in New Zealand, and set a standard not only for other women but for me. I can achieve anything I set my mind to.”
Courtney’s message to other young women - or anybody considering a change to a career in electrical trades is: “Go for it. As you have the willingness to learn there is always someone willing to help you achieve your goals.”