An insider’s guide to working at Menzies Aviation

Posted on 29/11/2023 by Hayley Clark

What’s it like to work at one of New Zealand’s biggest travel and tourism workplaces? We’ve already spoken to Shelby Cooper from International Working Holidays, and this time we’re chatting to Katey Gemming at Menzies Aviation.

Menzies Aviation provides ground support, fuel services, and air cargo services across the country and around the world, making them one of the most well-known names in the business.

Katey Gemming is currently a Human Resources Advisor for Menzies Aviation, so she has all the inside knowledge on what it’s like to work for this major company.

Can you tell our readers about your career? What roles did you do before you became an HR Advisor for Menzies Aviation?

I was in a customer service/office administrative role for 4 years. Before joining Menzies as a Time & Attendance Officer in 2019. I was unfortunately made redundant through Covid.

During this time, I worked as a Team Leader and worked closely with our HR Department.

I was over the moon when approached in 2022 by Menzies and asked to return in the same position, not long after I was given the opportunity moved into the HR Advisor role where I have been. I knew I always wanted to work in the airport and thoroughly enjoyed my time with Menzies and the people there, that when made redundant I knew someday I would come back.

What does an average day in HR look like?

It’s very true when they say working in HR is never a dull moment. My average day is looking into the future so to speak, looking ahead a month, and seeing what our recruitment numbers are like, where I need to prioritize focus. There is a lot of pre-screening candidates to find out what they’re looking for career wise and how we can help. I also follow up with new employees once they’ve settled in.

I work closely with multiple organisations to encourage and help people find work out of their studies, new change in their career, have been assisted by work and income, or relocating overseas to New Zealand.

What makes for an amazing Menzies Aviation staff member?

The staff members that stand out all share similar traits: Passionate, eager to continue learning, and flexible to the shift work lifestyle.

The shift work lifestyle can be very different and challenging for some people but is a big part of aviation. It is not for everyone and that’s okay. Someone who can commit and accommodate their time around shift work can truly lead into more opportunities.

What would surprise us about working for Menzies Aviation? Or is there anything unique about working for Menzies?

Menzies is so much bigger than most people realise.

We are one of the largest aviation services companies in across more than 60 countries, and 6 continents. I have been surprised countless times, whether it’s learning about the history of the company, how it thrived through two world wars, how your career in Menzies could really take you anywhere, and how it continues to keep growing as time goes by.

Learning and realising we are all working together to truly be a part of something big.

What career opportunities does an Airport Ambassador have ahead of them?

Ambassador roles are really good for getting your foot in the door! Whether to gain more customer service experience, learn more about aviation, or simply help you decide where you may want to go from there.

Most of our ambassadors do move up into permanent Check-in Agents roles which you can gain more experience, work closely and build rapport with airlines, those who have succeeded have go on to be Lead Agents, Duty Managers, Trainer, as a Turn Coordinator, and even work with Airlines (Qantas, Qatar, etc).

Finally, do you have any advice for anyone wanting to work for Menzies Aviation?

Show your passion in your work. It’s a good place to network with people in the aviation industry if you want to grow your career in aviation or travel & tourism.

ITC’s Employment Consultant weighs in

Sarndra Stephens is one of two of ITC’s dedicated Employment Consultants. She works closely with students, graduates and industry contacts such as Katey to help place talented individuals into amazing industry roles.

Here’s what she had to say about working with Katey and Menzies Aviation as a whole.

“We love working alongside Katey at Menzies to place our ITC students into Passenger ambassador roles, Front of House Check in Agent roles and other roles. Katey, Gemma and one of our ITC graduates came along again this year to our Annual ITC Industry Expo held here on campus and many students were immediately keen on the Passenger Ambassador Roles for their summer season. Katey did a special group interview session with those that were keen and we organised them into two of the Menzies induction dates. One date was easy as we had a group graduating and they did their induction a week after they graduated. I have had lots of happy photos from those students loving their new jobs. Another keen group have just spent their work experience week completing their induction and they will now work at Menzies while completing their studies. A great position to be in!”

“We are able to send CVs of keen students and graduates directly to Katey with some information on what makes each person special. As a result of this we have a huge contingent of our ITC graduates working for Menzies.”

Enrol today to kick start your travel or aviation career

ITC and Study From Home provide exceptional qualifications for anyone looking to enter the travel, tourism, or aviation industries. The skills and knowledge you’ll learn with us can set you up with a strong foundation for any job with any airline, airport, tourism operator or hospitality provider.

If you’ve ever dreamed of working in one of the most exciting industries on the planet, we’d love to hear from you! Contact us today to learn more about what we offer and how you can enroll now.

Study From Home – college@itc.co.nz 0800 TOURISM (0800 868747) or https://www.studyfromhome.co.nz/contact-us/

Posted in News | Tagged aviation, Insider's guide, Menzies Aviation | Leave a reply