We interviewed Eilidh Siller who works as Taituarā's Adviser, Workforce Leadership. Eilidh shares what she enjoys most about her role at Taituarā and some of the exciting projects she is working on as well as her best travel tips for her native Scotland - hint - you haven't visited Scotland if you haven't tried a deep fried pizza!
Tell us a bit about what you did prior to joining Taituarā as the Advisor, Workforce Leadership?
Before joining Taituarā I worked as a marketing executive for one of the UK’s largest independent travel agencies. I joined the company, which is based in Glasgow as part of an apprenticeship programme where young people can get real life experience and qualifications, all while learning on the job.
After almost 4 years of selling exotic destinations, I decided that it was time for me to go off on my own adventure. Before arriving in New Zealand earlier this year on a working holiday visa, I spent 4 months travelling South East Asia and visited family in Australia.
What do you enjoy most about your role at Taituarā?
I really enjoy the diversity and learning about local government, being completely new to the sector it really surprised me how extensive the career opportunities are. My role in the Workforce Leadership team has given me the opportunity to join the Workforce Working Party and help with their endeavours including hard to fill roles, the current and future workforce and sharing best practice.
The sharing best practice is particularly interesting to me, especially coming from an industry which was so competitive. It’s really refreshing to work in a sector where people are happy to share their resources and help others do better.
Tell us about some of the exciting projects you are working on at the moment?
I’m very excited to be working on Taituarā’s first ever Business Ethics, Fraud & Corruption forum which will take place in mid 2020. Ethical Leadership has been a huge focus for Taituarā and we already have some really thought-provoking topics and interesting speakers lined up.
What do you like to get up to on the weekends?
I’m really enjoying living in Wellington, having a city and beach right on your doorstep is something completely new to me. I especially love walking along the harbour front on a sunny day and spending time with friends.
Best three insider travel tips for Scotland?
My first travel tip would be to plan a trip to Scotland during the summer months, if you go in July or August you might even see some sunshine. My next tip would be to spend some time outside the major cities, there is a popular road trip called the North Coast 500 which is a 500 mile driving route around the top part of Scotland – it’s something I plan on doing next time I’m in Scotland!
My final tip would be to make sure that you try a deep fried pizza!