Ventia

Even if you know what career path you want to take in life, it doesn’t hurt to explore your options, especially if you can do it with a company that operates across Australia and New Zealand in a number of major sectors.

After an early interest in architecture, Carol Wang turned toward engineering in high school as she really enjoyed physics and maths. After studying general engineering units covering electrical, civil, software and mechanical engineering in her first year at Monash University, she was drawn to mechanical engineering.

“It was interesting to me to learn how things physically work,” she says.

Carol is in her second year of Ventia’s graduate program, and is currently working in our Infrastructure Services business with the Electricity Victoria team.

She says that she’s enjoying learning things related to her degree, but she has also had the chance to expand on them, gaining exposure to project management.

Project management isn’t as easy as I imagined,” Carol admits. “It has challenged me and changed my view on things.”

“It’s all about teamwork and management skills between lots of different stakeholders.” Despite knowing she wanted to be an engineer, Carol says the graduate program has helped her gain a clearer understanding of what she’d like to do in the future.

“Before I was a bit lost, I didn’t know which direction to go in,” she says.

She’s also learned there’s a world of opportunity out there, and it pays to try a few of them out.

“Don’t hesitate to try new things,” she says. “There are more possibilities than you think your degree can take you to. Don’t be limited by your degree.”

Importantly, Carol wants other graduates to know that the program provides a safe space for you to learn.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You are encouraged to learn from your mistakes at Ventia, to avoid them in the future. And people are willing to provide you with the help you need.” 

Engineering Graduate Shivani Rulyan likes to challenge herself. This explains why she added to her education after completing a Bachelors of Electronics and Communication with a Master of Engineering Science in Electrical and Electronics at Swinbourne University. And also why she wanted to join Ventia’s Graduate Program, which would give her the chance to work across a diverse array of contracts and industries.

“Often with graduate programs you are working in a company that is focused on one sector,” Shivani says. “Like if it is a power company you will get all the rotations in the same field. Same with railway and transport companies.”

“So I thought as a grad I will be better off in getting diverse experience across a company like Ventia.”

Shivani was always clear that she wanted to make a difference in her work.

“At first, when I was about 12 years old, I wanted to be a doctor,” she says. “My older brother is a role model for me, and when he studied engineering, I thought that was something I’d like to do.”

“I want people to know me by my work.”

As well as doing good, Shivani aspires to enjoy her work.

“One should do what they find interesting,” she says. “I live by this mantra.”

Her advice to other graduates is to be yourself, have confidence and be proactive.

To her, the best part of being a graduate at Ventia is the connections she’s making.

“Networking with various people across the business, has been great,” Shivani says. “I have had exposure to various teams and find it easy to approach people because everyone is so friendly and helpful.”

Shivani is definitely doing something right, as she took home a Telecommunications team award for her achievements, having achieved 100% on time performance against her KPIs.

“That has been my proudest moment so far,” she says. 

Harry is an alumni graduate currently working in the Strategy Team. See Harry’s journey below on the Graduate Program.

Business graduate Harry White joined Ventia’s graduate program at the start of 2022. Over the two-year program, Ventia’s graduates undertake three rotations – two in year one and a final 12-month rotation in their second year.

He has completed his two six-month rotations and is a few months into his year-long placement with our Strategy & Corporate Development team. 

Harry kicked off his first rotation in business development within our largest sector, Defence & Social Infrastructure. Through this rotation he got out into the field, visiting a number of contracts around the country to see first-hand what they do day to day.

"There's only so much you can learn from behind a desk. Getting out into the field and seeing some of our great people at work was an important opportunity for me when I first started", Harry says.

With a degree in commerce from the University of Sydney, Harry says he had some ideas about what he wanted to do when he graduated but was open to what parts of the business he experienced and the kinds of projects he was tasked with.

His second rotation was with the Plant team, which among other things, is responsible for managing Ventia’s large and diverse fleet, including a growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles.

One of the special projects Harry worked on was research into the impact of delaying the implementation of energy saving projects for one of our key clients. This was done under the guidance of subject matter expert and General Manager for Energy Solutions, Lena Parker.

“The call went out for grads interested in working on this specific piece of work, and Mitch was supportive of me participating,” Harry says.

“I learned a lot about energy efficiency, about the costs of not taking action when it comes to cutting our emissions and making changes to the way we use and source electricity, and generally about the kind of energy solutions that Ventia is able to offer clients.” The project culminated in Harry and two graduate colleagues presenting their research to the client, helping showcase Ventia capability and thought leadership. 

Overall, Harry says he highly recommends those about to graduate consider applying for a graduate program with Ventia.
"There's a place for everyone here."

Why did you choose to apply for Ventia?

As someone who has a thirst for learning new things deeply, the rotation program is what appealed to me as a fresh-out university graduate. I love that the Graduate program allows flexibility for me to move into different sectors, allowing me to experience new things and apply what I learn (both in uni and previous sectors) to every new one. 

What is your favourite thing about your current rotation?

I have a fantastic manager who challenges me every day in a good way. He gives me lots of side projects and asks me to attend networking and workshops with him, and as someone who loves diving into new things, I am glad that I got a manager who operates on the same mindset and gravity as me.

What has been your biggest learning experience to date?

There’s no such thing as perfection, and it’s okay not to be perfect. As a born and bred Type A perfectionist, I must admit it was hard to let this trait go, but eventually, I realized that it’s fine if I don’t know something because, in the end, I am a human, just like everybody else. I am learning daily, and I am incredibly thankful to my manager for teaching me this critical life lesson during the second week of my first rotation. This made me more easygoing and less uptight if things didn’t go as planned. 

What makes you excited to come to work each day?

Every day is different in Infrastructure Services commercial team, so I am always excited to see what is in store. I am also happy to meet new people. I love the people here in Ventia. Everyone is friendly and supportive, and even if it means having a 5-minute hot chocolate break, I very much look forward to it because that drives me to work—supportive people with good energy. 

What advice do you have for an incoming graduate coming into Ventia?

Just be yourself, never be afraid to approach someone and most importantly, network. Networking is crucial. It sounds cliché but trust me when I say this is the door to opening many opportunities for you. Everyone here is welcoming and supportive, so take it and do it because opportunities are rare. My Grandfather said opportunities are rare, so if you can’t find one in front of you, you must think about how to make it come to you. So yeah, just be you, and you’ll do fine here.

Why did you choose to apply for Ventia?

I chose to apply for Ventia because I was excited by the potential of learning and working across multiple different sectors and areas of the business, and getting to learn everything that goes along with that. 

What is your favourite thing about your current rotation?

My favourite thing about working in Brand, Marketing, and Communications is getting to see so many different parts of our business and getting to meet people involved in those areas. Through site visits, events, and through our internal marketing, I've had a chance to meet so many people and learn more about their roles in the business. 

What has been your biggest learning experience to date?

There are no stupid questions, and there are plenty of people around who are happy to help. Don't be afraid to talk to the people in your team if you have a question or a problem, because there's always something new to learn!

What makes you excited to come to work each day?

Working in BMC there's so much variation. Some days you could be blowing up balloons and getting ready for events, others you could be visiting a site and organising photography and interviews, no one day is ever quite the same. 

What advice do you have for an incoming graduate coming into Ventia?

Try and meet as many different people in as many different roles in the business as you can, you never know what opportunities you'll find just by connecting with people!