Career opportunities in the civil engineering and construction field were investigated by students from Bothwell and Campbell Town high schools when they visited the Poatina Buffer Dam in mid October.

The dam is under development as part of Tasmanian Irrigation’s Northern Midlands Irrigation Scheme.

The students met with engineers, project managers, machinery operators and construction supervisors, learning first-hand about career pathways and job opportunities on large-scale irrigation projects.

The on-site educational opportunity was part of a collaboration between Tasmanian Irrigation, our contractor Hazell Bros and the Beacon Foundation, supporting young people to have the aspiration, motivation and ability to determine their working future.

NMIS Project Manager Jacob Tierney said the visit enabled students to see first-hand the many steps involved in constructing a 25,500-megalitre irrigation scheme – from landowner consultation, design and engineering, and gaining all necessary regulatory approvals to on-ground works and project commissioning.

He said the students were enthusiastic to learn about the many job options associated with a $217.9 million project and was hopeful that some may pursue a career in the civil space.

“Tasmanian Irrigation manages a portfolio of more than 31,000 individual assets and has the capacity to deliver water across 133,577 hectares of land,” Jacob said.

“We are proud to be able to showcase the many career pathways within our organisation to Tasmanian students and look forward to continuing to work with the Beacon Foundation to encourage school leavers to prepare for the next exciting chapter in their lives.”