Meet the Team - Mark Chivers

Meet Mark Chivers

Engineering Apprentice at Waitara

Mark is an Engineering Apprentice at ANZCO Foods Waitara and is now into the third year of his training.

Engineering wasn't always the plan for Mark. He spent about ten years working at Countdown, but he found the hours meant he was missing out on weekends with his son. He then found a job at a friend's business as a machine operator, where the Monday-to-Friday hours gave him his weekends back. It was there he discovered he enjoyed figuring out how machines worked and how to fix them, eventually leading him towards an engineering apprenticeship.

At Waitara, Mark's day-to-day work varies depending on his roster. On an early shift, he's involved in getting the site ready for the day, including carrying out pre-operational checks to make sure machinery is safe and ready to go. Later shifts can involve fixing issues that have popped up around the site, providing engineering cover, or working on projects to improve operations.

Mark says he enjoys the variety of work he gets to do. He's had the chance to learn about refrigeration and get hands-on experience, including stripping down pumps and motors, replacing parts, and putting everything back together again. It's a great chance to learn how things work.

His apprenticeship combines on-the-job learning with coursework. If there's a particular type of job he needs experience in, Mark will ask the other engineers to get him involved when something suitable comes up. He says the team is supportive and will often keep jobs in mind that could provide him with a new learning opportunity.

Outside work, Mark is kept busy with netball. He represents Taranaki, and trains multiple nights a week. He's also helped start a local men's netball league and enjoys volleyball, golf and pretty much any other sport he can convince his son to join him in.

When he's not busy with netball, Mark enjoys getting out on his bike or spending time at home playing card games, board games, and video games. His partner works shifts as a police officer, which can be a juggle with Mark also on shift, but he says his partner and son have been supportive throughout his apprenticeship. The household is made even busier by their three cats and the kittens his partner fosters.

Mark's claim to fame comes from a slightly more unusual sport. When he was younger, he was a New Zealand champion in sled dog racing. His family bred Malamutes, and he would spend weekends training and racing a dog using a three-wheeled rig on forestry and dirt tracks. One race near Taupō was particularly memorable when it started snowing and they had to put socks on the dog's paws. His partner didn't believe him about his title until they visited family and old photos were brought out as proof. 

Fun facts

• Beach or mountains?
  Mountains
• Text or call?
  Text
• If you won the lottery, what's the first thing you'd do?
  Depends who knows I won it! A trip to Canada is definitely on the cards
• What are you currently working towards?
  Saving for a wedding next year
• What was your first concert?
  It was a Pink Floyd tribute band while I was primary school, and I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen
• What's your perfect day off?
  Friends, a few bevvies, and banter
• If you had to eat one cuisine for the rest of your life, what would it be?
  Italian - especially lasagna or a good portofino fettucine