Before a brick gets laid or the foundations poured in any of the 45,200 homes needed every year across NSW for the next 20 years, the demand for civil engineers to turn ideas into construction blueprint is only getting larger.
 
This includes Civil Engineering Draftspersons like Rhodes resident and TAFE NSW graduate Sydney Duong, who believes getting more women into the industry can help meet the national skills shortage.
 
Sydney, who walked into trainee role while still completing her two-year Certificate IV in Engineering Drafting at TAFE NSW Ultimo, says she graduated with hands-on skills and relevant industry knowledge that helped her succeed in being employed permanently after her traineeship and wants more females to join her.
 
“Women make up around 15% of the workforce in the industry, and there’s no reason other women can’t do this job, we have as much skill as the guys.  I think the problem is that there’s lower exposure to the industry for women, so they’re just not aware of the opportunity.  I’d encourage other women to consider this as an excellent career, there’s a national skills shortage and you’re going to have lots of opportunities right across the country,” said Sydney.
 
“I’m proud that as a TAFE NSW trainee, you start the job with confidence that comes from being skilled in the software that consulting firms, like my employer Mance Arraj, use every day so we can hit the ground running,” she said.
 
While Sydney started her education pursuing a Civil Engineering degree, she was drawn to the hands-on nature of being an Engineering Draftsperson.  
 
“I love to work on big, exciting projects like apartments, it’s pretty cool to see a concept you drafted on a computer get built from the ground up.”
 
Sydney’s manager and Mance Arraj Senior Structural Engineer, Kiarash Firouzi, said that since the company started more than 20 years ago, almost all the drafting staff began their training at TAFE NSW.   
“This is a win win, we can provide practical learning opportunities for these students, and we have a pipeline of well-trained future permanent employees like Sydney,” Mr Fiouzi said.
 
“The fact that TAFE NSW trainees were well versed with AutoCAD and Revit was instrumental in their ability to jump right in on practical structural tasks and concentrate on learning the complexities of structural drafting without having to learn the software tools from scratch.”
 
Head Teacher of CAD Drafting and Civil Construction, Amro Ezzeldine, said TAFE NSW students graduate equipped with cutting-edge skills and extensive exposure to the latest software applications.
“These skills enable them to undertake specialised engineering drafting and modelling assignments, including tasks such as concrete detailing, structural steel detailing and 3D modelling. Their expertise in these pivotal areas positions them as invaluable assets, especially in high demand areas, such as large-scale commercial, residential, and infrastructure projects,” Mr Ezzeldine said.
 
 

 
Media contact: Melanie Pope, Communication Specialist, 0400 074 007.