Women In Trades Wednesday- Zoe Kokx
Zoe Kokx is currently undertaking a 5-year apprenticeship in Aircraft Engineering with Air New Zealand.
A typical day for Zoe involves: “doing maintenance on our fleet and those who contract work to us. Depending on what area our team gets placed on, we could be working on anything from engines to cargo to flight deck. Some jobs I've been involved in this year include replacing the flight control cables along the wings of a Virgin Australia Boeing 737 and replacing the EGT (exhaust gas temperature) harnesses on an Air Caledonia engine. We also work on the USA air force C-130 Hercules- which is awesome knowing they've been all the way to Antarctica.”
On what inspired her career choice, Zoe says- “I've always loved planes, it still blows my mind when I see a C-17 or even a 777 take off, I know how it works but it still seems crazy!”
Zoe wanted to be a pilot when she was in high school, so when she was of age, she applied for the Air Force. Unfortunately, she wasn’t accepted due to having asthma, but that wasn’t enough to put her off a career in aviation… “A few years ago, I discovered this trade and went for it, after trying for ATC I knew this was my last chance to work with planes. After doing my pre-trade, I was lucky enough to land a job with Air New Zealand.”
“I think the thing I love most about my job is always going to be the planes. In what other job can you stand by the runway and watch planes planes battle to take off and land?!” Zoe comments on her love for the designs and engineering that makes planes as magnificent as they are, and she especially loves that she gets to get her hands dirty to keep them in the air.
Her proudest achievement to date is “when I was doing my pre-trade I managed to get the top trainee award- even though I had no mechanical background. I had studied so hard! My future goal is to complete the CAA exams and get my licence so I can get type rated for the A320s and maybe the 787s.”
Zoe’s advice to anyone looking to get into her trade is: “make sure it's something you're passionate about. It's a job that holds a lot of responsibility, and the training can be grueling, but being where I am now, it's all worth it!”
