Meet Charles, Our Engineering Student From France
Meet Charles, an engineering student from France who joined us for an international placement, with a little help from an old industry connection. Charles, an engineering student from France, joined us for an international work placement arranged.
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For the past six weeks, our team has had an awesome guest on board. Charles, an engineering student from France, joined us for an international work placement and it turns out hydraulics runs in the family.
Charles started studying engineering last September 2025, after a few years focused on maths and physics. His father has worked in hydraulics for years and Charles grew up hearing about pumps and pressure systems over dinner, which is part of why he wanted to see it all in action himself.
His trip to Hyspecs came about through an old industry connection. A friend of his father's had visited us in the past and stayed in touch over the years. When Charles needed to find an overseas placement for his studies, that connection made Hyspecs the obvious choice.
Over six weeks, Charles worked closely with our service manager Pietru, learning everything from stripping down pumps to testing them on our test bench. Asked what stood out most, Charles said it was stripping a pump and working out what was wrong with it, thanks to Pietru's explanations. "He explains what's happening in the pump and if I do that, this will happen. It's really interesting," he said. Pietru took Charles on site visits, breakdown and truly enjoyed having such a hard working young man on his team for a few weeks.
Charles also picked up on a few cultural differences along the way, especially how flexible New Zealand workplaces are with lunch breaks compared to the fixed midday hour back in France. What stuck with him most, though, was how friendly everyone was.
Before heading home, Charles is taking on one more Kiwi adventure, a two week road trip around New Zealand. He is back at university in France early September, with two more years of study ahead and hydraulics high on his list for the future.
We loved having Charles on the team and wish him the best for the rest of his time in New Zealand.