Technical Recruitment Team

STEPS Labour & Recruitment are quite unique in the recruitment industry, as we come from a background of Senior Engineering Management and Technical Competency Assessment rather than HR and marketing. All of our technical recruitment consultants including our Managing Director are long time Lead competency assessors for the Engineering Registration Authority reviewing and approving candidates for their Chartered Professional Engineering (CPEng) registration. This enables us to take a thorough job brief, select a long list of candidates to interview, interview and determine their suitability for the role and provide hiring managers with a concise short list of well qualified candidates to choose from. This saves the hiring managers considerable time and effort and allows them to focus on their core business. Our technical recruitment team includes the following Senior Engineers and Managers:

Our Managing Director, Ian Vedder, owns and manages a group of engineering consulting, contracting, sales & distribution and technical recruitment businesses operating across Australia and New Zealand, including STEPS Labour & Recruitment. Ian is an active participant in the Engineering community as a lead competency assessor for CPEng and RPEQ on behalf of the Engineering Registration Authority, a sponsorship champion and Committee member for Engineering NZ.  He has been an RPEQ since 2011 when he set up his first engineering business in Queensland. He is also an active member of the Institute of Directors and undertakes regular networking and professional development as a company director to complement his 17 years governance experience and 30-years+ executive and major Project Management experience. This deep involvement in both the Engineering and governance communities provides Ian and STEPS Labour & Recruitment with extensive networks in the Engineering, Infrastructure and construction industries that other recruitment agencies and internal HR Departments do not have access to.

Adrian is an experienced mechanical and manufacturing project engineer with product design and R&D experience in discrete manufacturing. He has been involved in engineering education governance, curriculum development, and teaching various engineering disciplines. Adrian has developed innovative assessment methods and implemented the first Apprentice Degree program in New Zealand. Adrian holds qualifications in mechanical engineering, business, and adult education. Adrian is actively engaged with Engineering NZ and serves on committees at the national and branch levels.  Adrian has an insatiable curiosity about all things engineering. He believes in the interconnectedness of engineering disciplines and the importance of personal attributes for successful industry appointments.

Sven Harlos – Sven is a Director of Liberte Consulting and Charter with 27 years’ experience in the international water industry. He is a CPEng and Fellow of Engineering New Zealand.  He started working as a PhD student and lecturer for Water Resource Management at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany, worked 6 years for a German government agency in a development project commercialising the Department of Water Affairs in Namibia as well as providing engineering assistance. After another year working on European Development and World Bank projects in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and the Middle East he moved to New Zealand. Sven was with Watercare for 17 years managing complex major projects in the headworks, water supply and wastewater treatment fields. Sven is a long-standing CPEng competency assessor on behalf of the Engineering registration authority, so has extensive experience interviewing and determining the competency of candidates of all disciplines. He has an extensive network within the 3 waters infrastructure sector.

Iain Cameron – Iain is a Senior Civil and Transportation Engineer and Project Manager with considerable experience in Water & Drainage Infrastructure, Structural Design, Programme/ Project Management, Contract Management, Quality Assurance and H & S. Iain undertakes training and assessment of a wide variety of trades and engineering disciplines across several jurisdictions as follows:  

Scotland and England – Delivers training and carries out assessments for Modern Apprenticeships in Construction from SCQF L3–L12 (degree level); Prepares and delivers training and carries out assessments for SVQ candidates in Road Construction and Maintanance, Soil Mechanics, Drainage, Operational Supervision, Plant Operators and Marine Harbours;  Carries out End Point Assessments for Formworkers and Piling Operators; Carries out Knowledge Tests, Project Assessments and conducts Professional Interviews for Construction Supervisors, Construction Managers and Construction Quantity Surveyors. 

New Zealand – Iain is a Lead CPEng competency assessor on behalf of Engineering New Zealand, so has broad experience interviewing and determining the competency of professional engineering candidates of all disciplines.

Iain brings all his extensive engineering, management, training and competency assessment skills and experience to his role as technical recruitment consultant with STEPS Labour & Recruitment recruiting candidates for all trades and all engineering disciplines. 

Executive and Administration Recruitment Team

STEPS Labour & Recruitment specialises in the recruitment of all skilled trades and engineering disciplines for a broad range of Government, Construction, Manufacturing, Logistics, Infrastructure, Resource and Utility industries. Whilst we do not for example recruit lawyers for finance companies or personnel for other non-engineering sectors, we do provide one-stop-shop recruitment services for the industries served that we know best. This includes recruitment of executive management, administration, marketing and sales staff to complement our technical recruitment services. Our Executive and Administration Recruitment team includes the following key personnel:

Our Managing Director, Ian Vedder, utilises his 17 years governance experience and 30-years+ executive management experience to assist our clients to recruit key executive management, project management and senior marketing personnel. His deep involvement in both the Engineering and governance communities provides Ian with extensive networks with senior executives in the Engineering, Infrastructure and construction industries that other recruitment agencies and internal HR Departments can not match.

 

Faye Vedder – Faye is our HR Specialist recruiting administration, marketing and sales staff and providing support to our technical recruitment team. She has a Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) with a double major in Management & Human Resource Management. Faye has 25+ years’ work experience in the Engineering, Telecommunication and Recruitment Sectors including –
• in a major multinational Engineering Consultancy with branches around Asia and the main office based in New Zealand.
• in the Telecommunication Industry in New Zealand.
• in a New Zealand based Engineering and Project Management Consultancy operating throughout the Asia Pacific.
• in the Recruitment Sector with STEPS Labour & Recruitment operating throughout Australia and New Zealand. 

Her experience and skills are related to administration, human resource management, recruitment and coordination of groups and projects within the Engineering, Construction, Telecommunication and Utilities sectors.