CareerSeekers is a non-profit organisation that supports humanitarian arrivals to overcome the barriers faced when seeking to establish and recommence their careers in Australia.
Ventia has been proud to partner with CareerSeekers since 2019, helping to enrich our talent and supporting our goal to reflect the diversity of our communities. During 2021, eight mid-career professionals and university students participated in the three-month internship program across the Ventia business.
Nashwan Al-Bashiri joined Ventia as an engineering intern in September 2021 at our Sydney Roads Asset Performance (SRAP) contract, working with the Project Delivery team.
Born in Yemen's capital city Sana'a, Nashwan has pursued his passion for engineering across the globe. Upon completing his Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering at the Infrastructure University in Kuala Lumpur and his Masters Degree in Civil Engineering at UKM University, Malaysia, Nashwan worked as a site engineer in Yemen and Malaysia., before moving to Sydney, Australia, in August 2018.
'I worked very hard to become proficient as a civil engineer, so I am passionate about pursuing it,' Nashwan says.
Nashwan lived in Australia for three years, searching for a job in engineering before he connected with Ventia through the CareerSeekers program.
They connected me with Ventia. They really helped me find a professional placement in Australia, which can be difficult without local experience.
Throughout his internship, Nashwan had broad responsibilities across a wide range of tasks and projects that enabled him to build on his existing technical skills and knowledge, learn about Australian Standards and improve his software skills.
Pictured above: Nashwan Al-Bashiri (Site Engineer) and Mia Kornfield (Site Engineer), SRAP contract
'I have been able to learn and help my team at the same time. The rules and regulations are completely different to what I learnt about in Yemen and Malaysia, so every day is new and challenging.'
Nashwan notes two significant things that he has really enjoyed about working in Australia with the Project Delivery team during his time on the contract so far.
'One thing I value about working in Australia with a company such as Ventia is the importance of employee safety.'
Nashwan has taken the value of safety and health above all else in his stride and challenged himself to learn about relevant safety rules and regulations to keep himself and others safe at work.
He has also enjoyed the work culture he has experienced first-hand working on the SRAP contract and at Ventia.
The best part is the communication, whether it is with my team or subcontractors, to deliver the project safely and delivering service excellence to the client.
'At Ventia, the culture is very open, and I have been able to speak easily with my managers by just asking them for a minute of their time,' he said. 'They are very easy going.'
Nashwan excelled throughout his CareerSeekers internship. Leveraging his previous knowledge and experience and tackling all the challenges and learnings the internship presented, his hard work, dedication and commitment were rewarded with a full-time position with the SRAP contract at the end of 2021.
"Nashwan is an incredibly hard worker and took everything in his stride," says Manager, Robert Zrilic. "We were absolutely thrilled to offer him a full-time role and to see him thrive in his career."
Nashwan, we look forward to following your journey at Ventia!
For more information about CareerSeekers, visit https://www.careerseekers.org.au/
Harmony Week 21 - 27 March 2022
Harmony Week is a time to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity. It's about inclusiveness, respect and belonging for all Australians, regardless of cultural or linguistic background.
Australia is a vibrant and multicultural country — from the oldest continuous culture of our first Australians to the cultures of our newest arrivals from around the world. With 49% of Australians born overseas or having at least one parent who was and over 300 ancestries, cultural diversity is who we are, as a country and here at Ventia.