Interview Team Leader – Brent
Heavy Earthmoving And Mining Equipment Experience
I served a 4 year mechanical apprenticeship and then 4 years as a Tradesman at an underground coal mine before I started working at Hastings Deering, an Australian Caterpillar Dealer in 1985.
I worked at Hastings Deering for 34 years.
Holding various positions including Technician, Leading Hand, Foreman and Supervisor before being promoted to Senior Management as the Service Manager for South East Qld in 2002.
For the next 17 years I held Senior Service Operations Positions including Group Equipment Assembly Manager and Group Service Support Manager until becoming a Strategic Projects Manager.
My final role with Hastings Deering Australia Limited was to Lead the Implementation of a Safety Initiative, “Life Saving Commitments“, into the whole organisation including Caterpillar Dealerships in Queensland and The Northern Territory in Australia, and also in New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea.
To compliment this working experience I have received high level training in multiple Caterpillar Service Management Courses, Workplace Health and Safety Officer, Accelerated Senior Leadership, DDI Targeted Selection Interviewing and Prosci Change Management . There have been many other training courses specific to positions held at that time.
Specifically my role as Group Equipment Assembly Manager allowed me to travel to many mine sites throughout Queensland, Australia, Papua New Guinea and also to New Caledonia to oversee the delivery and assembly of Caterpillar Large Mining Equipment.
Interviewing Internationally
Over my career I would have interviewed well over a thousand people for various Caterpillar Dealership roles including mechanical, electrical, apprenticeships, supervisory, and administration.
I first met the Skilled Migration Group team when in 2008 skill shortages in Australia forced the Caterpillar Dealer Hastings Deering to explore international recruitment options to boost our technician numbers.
I was one of 2 Service Operations Managers initially chosen to go to travel overseas to interview for those roles, along with a Technical Trainer and the Group HR Director.
The roles interviewed for included Technicians for Workshop, Component Rebuild, Equipment Assembly and Field Service. We engaged their team to assist us in our quest to recruit overseas Technicians. And this partnership exceeded expectations for Hastings Deering .
Over the next 4 years I was requested multiple times by the Caterpillar Dealership to interview, select and hire in Manila, and Cebu in the Philippines. And also multiple times to Lusaka, Zambia, and Gaborone, Botswana to fill our Caterpillar Dealership requirements.
Our dealership would have employed well over 200 Technicians in this 4 year period for deployment to Australia, PNG and New Caledonia.
Why I Joined The Skilled Migration Group Limited Interview Team
It was clear from the first day that we met the recruitment team that these were not the same as other recruitment companies we had previously engaged.
The Skilled Migration Group team, including Melissa, Kimberly, Beth and Frankie displayed deep empathy for the workers. They used systems that managed every step of the recruitment process and managed each worker as if they were the only person they were assisting.
This was very professional recruitment, but at a human level.
And it came as no surprise to find out later that Skilled Migration Group was heavily involved in charity work, helping fund:-
The Women’s Crisis Center Manila which helps women and children who are survivors of abuse by providing crisis intervention, counselling and rescue.
The UGAT Foundation which are an organization who believes in psycho-spiritual interventions like counselling and formation for families including Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in the disadvantaged sector.
International Social Service Philippines Inc. which works to protect, defend and support children, families and individuals in disadvantaged situations as a consequence of global movement (including OFWs), whose circumstances have led to the separation of families and children.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) The Philippine Rugby Football Union supports the promotion, development and efficient administration of the sport of rugby in the Philippines. To help realise this, they provide free coaching and role models for various orphanages in the Philippines.
I have always received great satisfaction from visiting different countries and working to identify the right people to fill our requirements. Not only for their technical ability but also their cultural fit to the company and areas they will be deployed.
That is why I have accepted an invitation from Skilled Migration Group to join their International Recruitment Team.