Jobs in Focus - Graduate Engineer
Earn while you learn - Councils and the Graduate Roadmap
Coming out of
university and into the workforce can be a challenging time. To help you get a
better idea of the process of graduate recruitment and why you should consider
taking on a local government role, we sat down with graduate engineers (or soon
to be) Lachlan Neal and Avinash (Avi) Singh from UTS and UNSW respectively, both currently employed
with the City of Ryde in suburban Sydney.
In creating
pathways for students to embark on fulfilling engineering careers, councils are
seeking to give graduates a taste of local government work; while taking the
opportunity to assess the suitability of the graduate to the role they’ve
undertaken.
The program allows
councils to ‘try before you buy’. If they’re impressed by the work of the
student, they may be invited onto the next step of the pathway - first into
paid part time work while they complete their studies, then into full time work
as a graduate.
Speeding Past Roadmap Checkpoints
While both Lachlan
and Avi have come down quite similar paths, they’re currently passing different
checkpoints on the Engineering Graduate roadmap. The graduates offer some
invaluable insights into the benefits of taking the leap into a local
government engineering role, while offering a few recommendations to make it
more of a small step than a big leap.
As the younger of
the two, Lachlan is still in the process of completing his Bachelor of Civil
Engineering at the University of Technology Sydney. As a compulsory component
of the degree, Lachlan has to complete two six-month internships in an engineering
role within an organisation. Having completed his first placement at Ryde
Council, he jumped at the opportunity to return under a different department,
as the initial internship has developed into an ongoing paid, part-time role
which offers a great level of flexibility to complement his studies.
Avi, however, is a
little bit further down the track, having graduated at the end of 2015 and as
such has now been working full-time in a local government engineering role for
just over two years. Similarly, his Bachelor of Civil Engineering required a
three-month internship in a relevant role. So, he made a call to Ryde Council.
At the time, they didn’t have a vacancy for him, but three months later he got
that fruitful return call. And the rest is history.
He joined the
storm water and catchments team at Ryde council and was offered a yearlong
casual contract after only a month. He too, took full advantage of the
flexibility offered by local government for the remainder of his university
years; a luxury not offered to his private sector peers. Once graduation rolled
around he was experienced and eager to jump into a full-time role with a highly
competitive graduate salary.
Why Take on a Role in Local Government?
If you ask a local
government engineer ‘what’s the best part about working in local government?’
Chances are they’ll immediately jump to the work-life balance offered by the hours
worked. While some occasionally criticise public sector workers as being less
committed to their jobs due to the hours actually worked, the lifestyle
benefits offered by not being expected to work overtime every night are vast
and plentiful.
In Australia, there
is often a high-strung working culture, where having a life outside of work is
often put on the backburner. Yet studies have shown that finding the right
balance between work and leisure, exponentially improves productivity and
worker happiness.
Additionally, the
nature of engineering in the public sector has given Lachlan and Avi experience
in areas that their private sector peers could only dream of understanding.
When asked about the benefits of the public sector, Lachlan tells us of the
competitive edge it gives him, as ‘you understand all the process, regulations
and standards that councils have to go through. If I was to go out into the
private sector, I would have all those regulations and all those standards in
my mind and I would be able to direct the project in the right direction from
the outset.’
The pair also
speak highly of the opportunities that have been afforded to them in local
government roles that may not be available elsewhere. As a local government
graduate, Lachlan and Avi are offered opportunities to sit in meetings with
high-level executives. And both engineers have enjoyed undertaking significant
levels of responsibility. They have relished the opportunity to take on a
greater role and feel that they now have a greater breadth of understanding of
local government as an organisation, rather than being experienced in a
specific type of project.
The graduates also
feel highly validated by the work they’re doing; as they’re providing a service
to the community that often goes unnoticed. In a way, they’re not the heroes
Sydney deserves, but they’re the ones we need.
Shaping the Career Path of Graduates in Local
Government
Although they did
not initially expect it, both Lachlan and Avi are in no rush to make the switch
to the private sector. Avi, in particular, believes that he’ll be there for at
least another two years, which has been saying for the last four years.
They’ve both
developed strong relationships with senior colleagues, who act as informal
mentors and have developed a process-based learning style. In contrast to the
formal university style of education, the graduates have worked in teams to
develop their engineering (and non-engineering) skills on a case by case basis.
Outside of the
engineering sphere, Lachlan has eagerly immersed himself in using the GIS software
(Geographic Information Systems) as a visual project mapping tool. Avi too, has
developed a much deeper understanding on the non-technical elements
underpinning engineering projects, including budgeting and funding allocation,
which is invaluable in ensuring a more holistic skill development throughout
his career.
An Alternative Path
The young,
aspiring civil engineer usually pictures themselves tackling the large
infrastructure projects. They want to tackle the million-dollar suspension
bridge project. Yet the wise engineer knows that before you can walk you must
crawl and that the best way to do that is to start small.
As a storm water
engineer, Avi has learnt the ins and outs of capital budgeting, project
management and government processes and regulations more thoroughly than most
of his private sector peers. If we consider his experience in the scope of his
career, his time working in local government is invaluable.
When asked of the
elements of local government that were unexpected and perhaps frustrating, both
Lachlan and Avi spoke of the inefficiencies in some of the processes within
local government. While the technology has moved on, many of the processes are
still the same as they were 20 years ago and there is
sometimes a reluctance to change.
However, they both
recognize that as a result, there is an opportunity for the young graduates
like themselves to breathe new life and a fresh perspective into the
organisation. With the large numbers of graduates moving through the ranks of
local government, things will undoubtedly become more efficient and
sustainable.
CouncilJobs acknowledges the support of the City of Ryde in publishing this item.
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