The Northern Territory news Sat 6 Jun 2015
NT news
The Northern Territory news; NewspaperNT
2015-06-06
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English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin
News Corp Australia
Darwin
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News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/257040
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/515742
04 CAREER ONE SATURDAY JUNE 6 2015 CAREERONE.COM.AU NTNE01Z01CO - V1 02 CAREERONE SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20 2014 CAREERONE.COM.AU ADVE01Z01CO - V1 JOB FOCUS The end of a job isnt NO worker is immune from redundancy in todays workplace but workers can build up their own defence to avoid being crippled by it. More than 350,000 Australians were forced out of work last year and more mass redundancies are on the cards for big businesses such as Holden, Qantas, BHP, Coles and Australia Post. Accepting that redundancy is about the job, not the person, is a critical first step to dealing with what specialists say is an accepted way of doing business. But the grief associated with being made redundant can send workers into depression if they are not properly prepared and supported. Randstad operations director Kellie Rigg says most businesses experience a time of change in which their workforce needs to shift. For organisations, its gone from being a conversation thats under the table to where every organisation needs a risk strategy on how to handle their redundancyto make sure people are treated with dignity and respect, she says. Career counsellor Rebecca Fraser says grief over the loss of a job does not discriminate and can strike a manager or a trainee with equal force. Following the Dancing with Sarah grief model, Fraser says a workers first reaction is usually shock, followed by anger, then resistance, acceptance and help. Traditionally an individual will work through these stages at a varying pace and will move backwards and forwards before reaching acceptance and help, she says. A lot of individuals will remain in the anger and resistance stages longer than others and will transition with more difficulty. Fair Work executive director Lynda McAlary-Smith says the changing culture around redundancies is reducing the associated stigma, but some businesses are still mishandling the process, which compounds a stressful situation. The Fair Work Ombudsman received 858 complaints related to redundancy entitlements in 2013-14. The more common mistakes that the average business makes is when they think about it in terms of the person rather than the actual job, McAlary-Smith says. You have to make sure its a genuine redundancywhere the employer no longer needs anyone to do that job. Before a decision is made, consultation with staff is advised to ensure they are given an opportunity to be part of the process and offer alternative suggestions. For most businesses in this country, the employees are your greatest asset in terms of expenditure and intellectual property, so why would you remove the position without talking to the person about other ways or what opportunities there might be? McAlary-Smith says. If rumours of redundancies are circulating at work, employees are urged to contact their union, industry group or the Fair Work Ombudsman to establish their entitlements. If the rumours prove true, it is important to not hide the process from family and friends, who will be needed as support during this time. Equally important is not to damage relationships at work as co-workers and line managers may be needed for work referrals in the future. McAlary-Smith has been made redundant twice in her career and says she has come to terms with it being part of the workforce changing. She says beyondblue and Lifeline have targeted resources to deal with mental health in the workplace and should be accessed during the redundancy process. In the past it wouldnt have been OK to say Im feeling stressed or undervalued, she says. Rigg says redundancy is not a pretty process but with mechanisms in place it should be handled with sensitivity. Regardless of the stigma changing, it doesnt make it any easier for people being on the receiving end, Rigg says. It can be really difficult. Tackle being put out of a job with an open attitude, writes Debra Bela CONTACTS: National Editor: Cara Jenkin Sales Manager: Dimity Gill Place an ad: 131 841 or sasalesrep5@news.com.au Deadlines: CareerOne classifed display advertising, complete material beforenoon Thursday; CareerOne line advertising, by phone 5pm Thursday 34% of employees do not believe their organisation is gender-diverse 48% of workers are not satisfied with the career path available to women at their organisation 43% of staff say their organisation does not value mature-age workers 31% of employees do not believe their colleagues span a variety of ages Twothirds of workers say their organisation is made up of people from various cultural backgrounds One-third of employers are not committed to recruiting a multicultural workforce 3 in 10 employees work with colleagues who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander SOURCE: HAYS MANAGING DIRECTOR, NICOLEUNDERWOOD Gap years can be an opportunity to develop skills that will assist in later years in the workforce such as resilience, independence, problem solving and risk taking. Employers will always be keen to hear about experiences during a gap year and what casual employment may have been undertaken during this time. As long as there is a demonstrated maturity and a desire to grow as a person, this can only be a good thing. SENIOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR, HAYS Taking a gap year can be very beneficial. Allowing time to travel the world, volunteer, work and have worldly experiences will teach him or her a lot about life and help them make a decision about the career they want in the future. You may be worried about them putting off uni or college for a year and falling behind their peers but the risks of taking a gap year can be greatly outweighed by the rewards. EXPERIENCED LISA MORRISMY TEENAGERWANTS TO TAKE A GAP YEAR NEXT YEAR. IS THAT A GOOD IDEA, OR WILL THEY FALL BEHIND THEIR PEERS? SENIOR ASSOCIATE, HENDER CONSULTING An employer hires an individual, not a degree or a qualification. Taking a gap year be it to travel, work or volunteer can provide a wealth of life experience and may in fact assist your child when they enter the workforce as opposed to disadvantaging them. Also, a years break may give them greater perspective and be just what they need to focus and apply themselves as they move forward. It is also common these days for young people to change direction and courses as they go so a year should not make a difference either way. UP & COMING ANDREW SULLIVAN HEAD OF ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, STILLWELL MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS I strongly recommend taking a gap year. Benefits include development of contacts, ability to remain resilient in unfamiliar or stressful situations, cultural awareness and education, emotional maturity, greater understanding of self and many other practical skills. Taking a gap year after secondary education and either before or during tertiary education can lessen the feeling of being behind ones peers, given that people dont tend to have identical pathways once they leave school. THE EXPERT ALEXANDRA STILLWELL MID-CAREER NICOLE UNDERWOOD email your questions to careerone2@news.com.auYOUR WORK QUESTIONS ANSWERED BY THE NUMBERS Many organisations may meet the diversity criteria for one area, such as age, but fall short when it comes to another, such as gender representation. N I C K D E L I G I A N N I S , M A N A G I N G D I R E C T O R , H AY S A U S T R A L I A & N E W Z E A L A N D . ITS A BRAN NEW CHALLENGE JUAN Roberto Bran was working as a bank manager and studying an MBA when he was made redundant last year. Id worked for that company for eight years, Bran says. I didnt take it to heart. It was a business decision. Bran took time away from work to focus on his young family before applying for jobs broadening his hunt to HR and marketing until someone in the poultry industry gave him a go. I became a site supervisor, managing the whole process of closing down a factory and managing the team, says Bran, who is now back in banking and three weeks from finishing his MBA. The redundancy hasnt bettered my position, and it hasnt worsened my position, he says. I dont look at it as a negative or the end of the world. It is something that happens in all organisations. WORKPLACE SUPPORT Executive, Professional & Management info@rcsa.com.au www.rcsa.com.au Clients and candidates use the services of professional recruitment and on-hire firms who are members of the RCSA because Corporate and Individual Members (Accredited Professionals, Members and Fellows) are bound by the ACCC authorised Code for Professional Conduct. Be assured you are in safe hands by looking for the RCSA icon. INDUSTRY LEADERS CAN BE DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR RCSA ICONS 8 CLASSIFIEDS SATURDAY MAY 23 2015 COURIERMAIL.COM.AU TRAINING & COURSES Are you a tertiary, vocational or private education provider? ARE YOU INTERESTED IN GROWING YOUR STUDENT NUMBERS AND GENERATING ENQUIRIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS? Training & Courses delivers a targeted environment for education providers to reach readers who are interested in career development from school age to mature career changers. With Training & Courses, our readers can learn, grow and succeed. Contact the Careers and Education advertising team on (07) 3666 6839 or email newsqldcareers@news.com.au for advertising in this section. TYSON GRUBB TYSON Grubb used his background in engineering to start his own business. He graduated from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronic and Microengineering) in 2000 and worked in engineering roles before applying his knowledge to create digital test and measurement company Instrument Choice eight years ago. Since I was young I had an interest in software and electronics, tinkering and designing, Grubb says. With a family history in business I wanted to own a business in the electronics field so electronic engineering looked like a natural fit. He spent seven years as a research assistant, field applications engineer and marketing engineer. A highlight was spending a year with the University of Iowa in the United States, working in biomedical engineering. mobile network in remote regions of the country which involved spending many days flying in helicopters trying to locate suitable places to build mobile phone towers, he says. Kupeckyj, who was attracted to engineering after taking an interest in electronic dance music, has been with Vodafone for four years leading a team who manage coverage and capacity of the mobile network in SA and NT. for operators like Sprint and Bell South, he says. I then took an opportunity to work on a new mobile network rollout in Sao Paulo, Brazil for 12 months with a telco called BCP. From there, Kupeckyj worked in Switzerland then returned to South America, spending six months between Chile and Guatemala. The Guatemalan trip was quite an awesome experience since we were planning a new ELECTRICAL and electronics engineers are experiencing the second largest growth rates of the engineering profession, with 2600 new jobs to be created between them in the five years to November, 2018. Although civil engineers top the list with 3900 new positions, electrical and electronics engineers follow with 1500 and 1100 new jobs, respectively. Andrew Kupeckyj has worked all over the world in the lead-up to his current job as engineering manager SA/NT for Vodafone. After graduating from the University of South Australia with a Bachelor of Engineering (Electronic Engineering) with Honours in 1994, he was overseas within two years. I was posted to a number of different locations in the USA including Des Moines, New Orleans and Atlanta where I worked on designing mobile phone networks ENGINEERING Hooking up to a whole new world There is a range of jobs out there for engineers, writes Melanie Burgess ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS EARN $53,000 $118,000 A YEAR. ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS EARN $49,000 $92,000 A YEAR SOURCE: PAYSCALE NETWORKING: Andrew Kupeckyj is working for Vodafone, LIFE FULL OF BRIGHT SURPRISES LIANA PAOLINO FOR Liana Paolino, it was her love of maths and science that sent her down the engineering path. Now, however, it is her roles contribution to society she enjoys the most. Paolino walked straight out of her graduation at the University of Sydney in 2013 into her role as project electrical engineer for engineering consultants Norman, Disney and Young. I work in the building services space and basically we work on large building developments within commercial, rail, health and education and I look at the electrical systems, she says. Providing infrastructure and seeing how that affects society is a very interesting side. As technology changes, the work we do changes as well. Paolino says others considering engineering need to seek work experience opportunities. I am now working as an engineer in an energy company on rigs offshore. Her advice for others considering a career in engineering is to take every opportunity. Ask all the questions and show that you are proactive, she says. Also, find out what makes you different from the crowd and make sure youre remembered by that. Apart from being an engineer and social advocate, Abdel-Magied, 23, has also been on the Australian Multicultural Council, the Board of the Queensland Museum and the Design Council as well as been a member of the Federal ANZAC Centenary Commemoration Youth Working Group and the organising committee of the 2014 Youth G20 Summit. ENGINEER Yassmin AbdelMagied is the 2015 QLD Young Australian of the Year. Born in Sudan, AbdelMagied founded community group Youth Without Borders at age 16 before going on to study a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Queensland and graduate with First Class Honours. She started her engineering career because of her passion for motorsport. I had always just wanted an adventure, she says. I ran the University Formula SAE Racecar Team designed the chassis and went to the UK to study further. Funnily enough, even though I was offered work experience with Mercedes F1, the reality didnt quite match the expectation and so I looked around for something to fulfil the passion I had for engineering. I found the world of energy. She worked as a field technician/engineer on land rigs around Australia. I was trained in Houston and spent time setting up, maintaining and troubleshooting the tools that went down-hole while we drilled, she says.