Emmanuel Tzanakes

Graduate Site Engineer
Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) & Bachelor of Commerce

Tell us about your work experiences in the graduate program to date

The graduate program gave me the opportunity to work as a Graduate Site Engineer at Clyde Dive on the Western Tunnelling Package (WTP). During my time here, I gained experience in construction management, working on various scopes such as concrete structures, drainage, earthworks, piling, precast and defects. Alongside the site experience, the nature of construction meant that I interacted with many other disciplines such as safety, environmental, quality and commercial, allowing me to broaden my knowledge on all the different functions that contribute to a mega project.

What has been the most interesting or unexpected thing about your graduate role?

The most unexpected thing about my role was the level of autonomy and responsibility given to me. Being thrown in the deep end and trusted to manage scopes, stakeholders and subcontractors contributed greatly to my development as an Engineer. Alongside this, it was interesting to me to understand and learn how complex and large-scale projects are constructed step-by-step, which was something I had no idea how it was done coming from uni into the graduate program.

What advice would you give to an aspiring graduate applicant?

My advice would be to put your hand up and ask to get involved in anything that interests you. Be proactive in seeking opportunities to learn and gain responsibility as that is how you will grow. Throw yourself in the deep end and use the support around you.

Yiwen Zhang

Graduate Site Engineer
Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Civil) and Bachelor of Design in Architecture

Tell us about your work experiences in the graduate program to date

My graduate experience has taken me across several stages of major infrastructure delivery. I began in quality assurance at the Eastern Creek precast yard, supporting the production and delivery of tunnel-lining segments for the Sydney Metro West Western Tunnelling Package. I then worked as a site engineer at Westmead, gaining construction management experience and taking end-to-end ownership of a demolition scope. I now support design coordination for Sydney Metro West Stations Package West, coordinating interfaces across more than 20 design packages. These experiences have shown me how quality, construction and design come together to deliver complex infrastructure.

What has been the most interesting or unexpected thing about your graduate role?

What surprised me most was the level of responsibility and trust I received early in my career. I had the opportunity to plan and manage a demolition scope end to end, contribute to risk workshops and communicate with key stakeholders. The scale of the work has also been unforgettable. Although I understood that the Western Tunnelling Package involved nine kilometres of twin tunnels, standing inside a tunnel and watching a seven-metre-diameter tunnel-boring machine break through was extraordinary. These experiences showed me how individual contributions connect to a much larger outcome.

What advice would you give to an aspiring graduate applicant?

My advice is not to worry if you haven’t decided exactly where you want your career to lead, I felt the same at university. Gamuda’s graduate program gives you experience across different stages and disciplines of the project lifecycle, helping you discover what interests you along the way. Be curious, ask questions and embrace opportunities outside your comfort zone. You do not need to have every answer when you begin; what matters is being willing to learn, having the confidence to seek support and keeping an open mind about where each experience might take you.

Gracelene Sharon

Graduate Engineer
Bachelor of Mechatronics Engineering (Honours)

Tell us about your work experiences in the graduate program to date

I started my Graduate program with Gamuda as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer for the TBM Plant Team at Rosehill for the Western Tunnelling Package Project (WTP). I had the opportunity to witness the TBM in full operation and assist where possible with planning and delivery of the TBM being disassembled, retrieved, relocated, and relaunched in the other direction to continue with the tunnelling. Over this period, I overlooked the implementation of the MEX prestart system on site, which was an initiative taken by Gamuda to digitalise the periodic machine prestarts to be done digitally on tablets rather than on paper.

Due to the nature of the project stage and my role within the plant team, I continued my second rotation with the same team, and I got more involved with the conveyor systems, refurbishment, and maintenance. Finally for my third rotation, I have moved to the MEPF team for the Metrovista Stations Tender, where I am learning more about the Mechanical, Electrical, Hydraulic systems architecture involved in the construction of a Metro Station.

What has been the most interesting or unexpected thing about your graduate role?

The most interesting part for me was being able to witness the TBM in operation, being assembled and disassembled all in my first year in the industry as a graduate engineer.

What advice would you give to an aspiring graduate applicant?

Networking: Attend as many networking events as possible throughout university and at the workplace. You never know what new opportunities someone in your network can present you with. Having a quick 1-2 min pitch about yourself to showcase your passion can really help in such networking events and this can be a great opportunity to practice your public speaking skills and showcase your passion.
Open to new opportunities and being adaptable: The graduate program is a great opportunity to try out different roles and fields to understand which suits best and therefore being willing to learn and try out new things would play a key role in this experience.

Requoting something that was adviced to us when I first started my Graduate program:

“The Graduate Program helps you explore different career paths if you're unsure about your field of interest, or it can reinforce a specific goal or passion you already have”.

The construction industry is quite dynamic and there can be changes in the pace of work, workforce, etc. It’s important to be able to assess the situation and adapt.

Indeah Morris

Environment & Sustainability Graduate
Bachelor of Science (Environment & Heritage Management)

Tell us about your work experiences in the graduate program to date

I joined the graduate program as an Environment & Sustainability Graduate and since then, I have been given a multitude of opportunities across Gamuda. My first rotation consisted of working alongside our Corporate Environment & Sustainability team on upcoming tenders. This rotation gave me a great understanding of pre-contracts and how not only our team but other companies come together to win work.

My second rotation was being a part of the Sustainability team working on Sydney Metro West - Western Tunnelling Package (WTP). This rotation allowed me to see how concepts and initiatives I learned about in my prior rotation is delivered onsite and how we measure/track progress and success.

My current rotation is a split between the same role I was doing in my last rotation and an Environment Operations role. This rotation has been very exciting and constantly pushes me out of comfort zone by getting out onsite and using environmental science and people-skills to manage our impact on the environment for the better.

What has been the most interesting or unexpected thing about your graduate role?

The most interesting thing about my graduate role was learning so much about the construction industry and one of the more unexpected things is the overwhelming sense of pride you gain from being a part of a project and team that is delivering some of Australia's most important future infrastructure.

What advice would you give to an aspiring graduate applicant?

My advice to an aspiring graduate applicant would be to always push yourself out of your comfort zone, as you will never know how much you will enjoy something if you never give it a go. However, I do also believe that you will never miss out on an opportunity that was meant for you. So, in the face of rejection keep your head up and keep persevering onto the next goal!

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