BEING AN ELECTRICIAN IT’S NOT JUST A JOB; IT’S A CAREER
SINCE STARTING HER ELECTRICAL APPRENTICESHIP TWENTY YEARS AGO, LAURA ALLEN HAS DEVELOPED A REPUTATION FOR HER ENTHUSIASM, PASSION FOR THE ELECTRICAL TRADE AND NATURAL LEADERSHIP. Formerly an Electrical Group Training (EGT) apprentice, she has worked in a variety of roles within the resources sector, purposefully finding new opportunities and never being afraid to give something new a go. EGT was pleased to interview Laura, where she shared her exciting journey, the lessons learned and her insight that being electrician is not just a job, it’s a career. What are some of the highlights of your career? When I started my apprenticeship, I was so excited. I just wanted to be a sparky and I loved that I was getting paid to learn and work with my hands. I worked in Perth with different host employers across the domestic, commercial, construction and industrial sectors. Then I set my sights on working up north.
At the time, it was unusual for a female apprentice to be sent to site from Perth, but I really wanted to work there, so I decided to move to Karratha. Once I had somewhere to live, EGT arranged a placement for me at a host contractor on a Pilbara Iron site where I stayed until after I completed my apprenticeship. I then spent 18-months working in communications and fibre optics, before going to work with a contractor at the Karratha Gas Plant, in a lighting campaign team. It was there that I got my hazardous areas certificate and on-the-job experience working with instrumentation electricians. The next step involved obtaining my instrumentation accreditation. Having these skills positioned me for offshore work, and after the challenges
of getting my foot in the door, I spent twelve years working in a variety of roles. Woodside became the vessel owner in 2012, and I completed two projects in Singapore with this vessel. I also worked my way up to being the Registered Person Electrical (RPE). That was a major milestone for me and for Woodside too, as I was the first female to work in that role. My next step was to cross into operations and from there I became Woodside’s first offshore female Process Maintenance Coordinator (PMC). It was after my second project in Singapore that I took a temporary transfer into my current role at Woodside’s Perth office. I’m a Process Owner and I am responsible for overseeing all of the operations processes for seven assets, both on and offshore. I assess and manage operational risks and support managers in the safe running of all their assets. It’s been a fantastic and exciting opportunity. I’m almost at the end of my transfer and I’m waiting to see where I’ll go next. I want to keep growing, learning and building my skills. You’ve actively looked for growth opportunities in your work. Yes, I have. Not long after I became a tradesperson, we were going into a shut down on site and three of the team weren’t available to work. That left me, the Site Manager and his wife who was a labourer. The Site Manager was set to cancel the shut, but I assured him that his wife and I could do the work. He wasn’t convinced, but I believed the work was within my capabilities, so he agreed we could get started. He left site to go and find other tradies to give us a hand, but by the time he came back, we’d completed all the work including the testing and lock off. Everything was ready to go back online. Following our success my employer offered me a Leading Hand role; however, I had an ‘aha’ moment and decided to resign. I realised I was always going to be seen as the ‘apprentice’ on that site
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September 2021
