Melissa Drennen

HR

What discipline and cohort (i.e. 2019, 2020, 2021) are you in?

2020, in my second year.

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

JHG Head Office & currently, West Gate Tunnel Project

What does your typical workday look like?

At the moment, I am assisting with recruitment for the project so my typical day involves assisting the Resourcing Manager by phone screening candidates, arranging and conducting interviews, completing preemployment checks, preparing onboarding paperwork, arranging contracts and coordinating everything that new starters need for their first day on the job!

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

I have really enjoyed being able to be involved in a variety of tasks within different areas of the HR team on such a big, complex project. I enjoy that each day is different and that I get to work with multiple stakeholders across the project, whilst constantly learning new things.

What are the limitations of your role?

I don’t find too many limitations in my role as I am given the opportunity to be involved in lots of different matters across the project. The only limitation is that sometimes I can’t be involved in everything as I either don’t have the capacity or the matter is out of my scope of knowledge.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

Prior to beginning the program, I was extremely nervous about meeting so many new people and learning new things, considering I had never worked in HR before. I wish I knew not to be so nervous as I have always felt supported by my team and the wider project!

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

Prior to starting on the Graduate Program, I tried to learn as much as I could about the history, values and current projects of John Holland. I made sure I had everything I needed prior to my first day and made sure I made the most of the down time I had before I started so I could make sure I was refreshed and ready to start!

Dan Young

Communication

What discipline and cohort (i.e. 2019, 2020, 2021) are you in?

Communications Graduate; 2020 cohort.

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

I’ve worked at the Cross Yarra Partnership Design & Construction Joint Venture (CYP D&C JV) in the Communications and Stakeholder Engagement team since February 2020.

I worked in the Eastern Precinct team until November 2020 before rotating to the Business Support & Engagement team. I now provide support to impacted businesses across all CYP sites across the Project.

What does your typical workday look like?

On a large Project like the Metro Tunnel, there is an extremely wide group of stakeholders impacted by the construction. In my current role of Business Support, a typical day involves engaging with businesses across the Project that are impacted. Whether in person, on the phone, or over email, I engage with businesses to discuss ways to alleviate these impacts. We achieve this through free business promotion, area activations, partnerships, development of business plans and various other measures.

Last year in the East, my role was to engage with stakeholders specifically around the Anzac Station & Eastern Portal sites. A typical day for me involves preparing construction notifications, Community Reference Group presentations and resolving resident complaints and queries. This required a lot of engagement with the engineering and construction teams to ensure we provide the correct information to the community.

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

My role takes me all over Melbourne, so each day is different. One day I’ll be speaking with cafés in South Melbourne, and the next day I’ll be meeting with the North Melbourne Football Club in Arden. I enjoy being on the move, so I really like this aspect of the role.

What are the limitations of your role?

As I joined the Project halfway through, I missed the early stages during which these stakeholder relationships were developed. This is often a difficult process but also a great learning experience for those involved.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

I wish I knew more about the construction industry before starting in the Graduate program, especially as someone who doesn’t have a background in engineering. There is a lot to learn!

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

I tried to familiarise myself with the Metro Tunnel Project a bit more. Coming into the role with a general understanding of what, where and why things are happening, will allow you to hit the ground running.

Nathan Mowad

Engineering

What discipline and cohort (i.e. 2019, 2020, 2021) are you in?

I am a part of the 2020 Cohort.

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

My first rotation was in Pre-Contracts, which lasted for the duration of 2020. I was fortunate enough to work on multiple high-profile jobs during this rotation, such as the Gold Coast Light Rail 3A Tender, the Warringah Freeway Upgrade and the Warragamba Dam Raising Tenders. I travelled to Brisbane for the Gold Coast Light Rail tender pre-COVID and, mid-way through, went back home to help my team complete the job from our homes in the middle of a pandemic! As of the beginning of 2021, I have joined the Sydney Gateway Joint Venture between John Holland and Seymour Whyte for what is my first involvement in the delivery of a project. It has been thoroughly enjoyable to be a part of a dynamic team that is dedicated to helping me learn while I assist with the workload.

What does your typical workday look like?

My typical workday almost always kicks off with a home-made coffee with Dad as soon as I wake up, and we chat of our plans for the day and watch the early news. About an hour later I am out of the house and on my way to work, listening to some music or a podcast on my drive in. I get to the project office and plan my day ahead in my diary for 5 minutes, and then get stuck into my work! Usually this is broken up with meetings, site visits, lunch and a coffee or two spread throughout the day. By 5/5.30 p.m. I will leave the office and be on my way to have dinner at home, usually followed by a soccer training session, study for my post-graduate degree and/or a chill night watching a movie & reading.

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

The most interesting aspect of my job is the opportunity for involvement in iconic projects that will shape the city in which we live. The ability to learn how and why a project is delivered, and then explaining those learnings to people unfamiliar with the subject, is what intrigues me the most.

What are the limitations of your role?

There are very few limitations to the Graduate role – it is essentially a license to ask, ask and ask! Generally, all my colleagues are more than willing to explain unfamiliar concepts or highlight important processes to me – and these moments are key in my development as an engineer. Naturally, the Graduate role requires me to try a few different roles within John Holland’s different departments. This may be considered a limitation – but this is not the case.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

I wish someone told me that the long hours were not so daunting! The day speeds by because I am constantly engaged. My experience with John Holland has so far seen me enjoy a healthy work-life balance.

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

I prepared by finishing my old job a month before my commencement at John Holland. Doing so allowed me to spend time going to the gym, catching up with friends and taking the time to learn a little more about the construction industry.

Sajitha Srivelan

Sustainability

What discipline and cohort (i.e. 2019, 2020, 2021) are you in?

HSEQS Graduate (based in Sustainability), cohort of 2020.

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

I’ve been in the Cross Yarra Partnership Design and Construction Joint Venture (CYP D&C JV) Sustainability Team on the Metro Tunnel Project for just over a year now.

What does your typical workday look like?

Sustainability is based on the idea that effective management of today’s resources allows future generations to be afforded the same resources and opportunities that we have. This is based on management of the triple bottom line – impacts to the environment, economy, and society. As these impacts are quite varying, my days are also quite varying! Some days involve going out to site to spend time with the construction teams and conducting sustainability inspections. These inspections are invaluable in terms of getting to ask questions and learning more about barriers to sustainable construction practices, as well as to see how sustainability is taken from a theoretical aim to a practical achievement. Other days are filled with interacting with our subcontractors to manage their compliance with sustainability requirements, conducting reviews of our resource consumption with the sustainability resource leads, or putting together communication pieces for the Project Wide newsletter.

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

It’s incredibly rewarding and interesting to see how different sustainability metrics on a construction project are measured and tracked using the ISCA IS rating tool and the GBCA Green Star rating tool. I love that every day I feel like I’m helping to build a better future.

What are the limitations of your role?

I think one thing I would have liked to see was how initiatives for implementation of sustainability were chosen and developed.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

That company templates exist for documents to help you with formatting and colour scheme, and that we have a jargon buster. There are lots of acronyms in this industry!

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

I was really lucky in that I was able to come down and meet the team during my final year of university before commencing in the new year. This was a wonderful opportunity because they were able to give me a spiel about what they do, what their focus was, and direct me to reading to help supplement my starting with the team. It really helped to familiarise myself with the Project prior to starting.

Yasmin Dallol

Rail

What discipline and cohort (i.e. 2019, 2020, 2021) are you in?

I am in Rail and joined in 2020.

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

My first year of the Grad Program I was placed with the Rail Infrastructure Services Team, and then rotated to NWPA Pakenham Planning Development team which is where I am now.

What does your typical workday look like?

Back at RIS I would have my trusty site notepad that would have a list of tasks that I would usually write the day before, that list usually gets thrown out the window! The day can be very unpredictable at times, so being flexible and ready was essential. During the day I would get said tasks done, watch and learn, ask A LOT of questions and end it by listing the things that need to be done the next day (hoping for no curve balls). My days here at NWPA are kind of similar in a way, only major difference is that now I’m at home.

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

Being involved in a project from the tender phase all the way to the delivery phase. I have learnt so much working on each step of the project and every step requires a different set of skills and can be challenging both mentally and physically. But at the end, when it comes to the delivery phase you get a huge sense of accomplishment and it is very rewarding. I have been lucky enough to be exposed to a variety of Rail projects around Victoria, whether central or rural.

What are the limitations of your role?

Sometimes working in a fast paced environment, for a grad can be tricky. Since I still have so much to learn, finding the right time and place to ask my questions is not easy. I have been very lucky with the teams I have been placed with, my managers/colleagues have always been open for questions and conversations.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

During Grad orientation week we had many lectures and conferences so a lot was covered in preparation for the job so I felt prepared. Maybe the only thing I wasn’t prepared for was the amount of fun on the job I was going to have.

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

Directly transitioning into a full time job from being a full time student for the past 4 years was quite challenging to say the least. Especially when it came to my sleeping schedule. So fixing my sleep schedule and getting into that right mindset is how I prepared.

Kira Wheelhouse

Building

Provide an overview of all your rotations to date:

Youth Justice from Feb 2020 to current.

What does your typical workday look like?

Start the day at prestart, head out for a site walk with my area supervisor, then spend the morning getting the questions from site answered with the consultants. After lunch I’ll work on program, plan upcoming works, and work through some of the more complicated issues. In the afternoon I’ll go on another site walk and note down the day’s progress for my works and status of my short range program.

What has been the most interesting thing about your job?

That every day there’s something new. There’s always a new issue to work through and resolve that needs some elastic thinking and collaboration with the team. This is everything from resequencing works to make sure we maintain access, finding efficiencies like prefabricating services runs to save some time, and to checking the depths of light fittings so they don’t jut past the ceiling. I’m constantly learning and constantly challenging myself to improve.

What are the limitations of your role?

A grad is a pretty junior position, so I rely on my SPE to help me with a lot of issues that I’m not sure how to navigate, from challenging personalities to the intricacies of plastering. This can be helpful though – I can ask all of the “silly” questions with the understanding that I’m pretty new.

What is something you wish you knew before you started?

Building is easy, people make it hard. People management is the single most important thing I do every day, and technical experience is second to that.

How did you prepare for starting on the Graduate Program?

I wouldn’t say I really prepared – I made sure to come in with an open mind and a willingness to ask questions and learn, and I really think all you need is a good attitude. Most people in the industry, from consultants to colleagues to subcontractors, are generous with their time and knowledge and are more than happy to answer questions about their area of expertise.

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