As a Plant Operator, you will provide support to units in the construction of minor earthworks and repairs. You are responsible for the safe operation of all kinds of plant (for example excavation equipment) used by the New Zealand Army, as well as maintenance of equipment.

Graders, diggers, trucks and many other kinds of heavy equipment will be your office while you complete the various construction and earth moving tasks required to ensure the New Zealand Army achieve its goals.

This trade is currently only available to Regular Force Soldiers, and is lead by Officers from Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers (RNZE).

Job on Camp

At home, you are responsible for the efficient and safe operation of all the plant as well as daily servicing and maintenance. As the operator, you are responsible for identifying and reporting all faults before they turn into major mechanical failures. You could be employed in civil aid and national emergencies such as helping with civil defence, scrub fires, road repairs and flood control, as well as assisting other Army units both in New Zealand and overseas.

As this role is readily deployed overseas, time spent on camp is often spent training and ensuring that personnel are trained with appropriate working skills that will be needed for the variety of jobs undertaken.

Job on Deployment

A key part of the Plant Operators role on deployment is the concept of winning resources – taking a resource and making it usable for Army operations e.g. the construction of temporary roads and runways from existing materials.

RNZE personnel can be found in small contingents around the globe. Places they have previously been deployed include Antarctica, Bosnia, East Timor, USA, Australia, South Pacific Islands, Mozambique and Iraq.

Career Progression

Throughout your career you will constantly be up skilling on all of the heavy equipment used by the New Zealand Army, so you will not be stuck using one machine your whole career.

As your career as a plant operator progresses you will get the opportunity to attend a task manager and supervisory course allowing more senior management of groups and projects.

The minimum remuneration you will be paid from day one is $31,894. Your remuneration will increase upon graduation of your recruit course to $40,646 and will continue to increase on promotion and seniority.

• You must be at least 17 years of age.

• You must be a NZ citizen (some exceptions apply).

• You must be of good character – assessed by a study of testimonials and a police record check.

• Class 1 restricted drivers licence recommended.

• You must have completed at least three years at secondary school.

• NCEA level one with 12 credits in Maths and English.

• You must be medically fit for service.

You will be posted to Plant Troop, 25 Engineer Support Squadron (25 ESS) based at Linton Camp, for a minimum of two years. After this you could be posted to the 25 ESS Plant detachment in Waiouru.