Re-defining graduate recruitment for rapidly changing world

Global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon will boost its graduate workforce by employing 143 graduate students across Australia and New Zealand ( ANZ), as part of its innovative graduate recruitment programme.

Aurecon is redefining the 21st century graduate, highlighting the growing importance of graduates having double degrees, as well as developing and fine-tuning soft skills to further enhance their careers.

“To complement our continued growth and development of Aurecon’s Advisory business with a more holistic approach to graduate recruitment, we are shifting our preference to graduate candidates with double degrees such as engineering and commerce or engineering and arts,” said Liam Hayes, Aurecon Chief People Officer.

“To be future ready, and have a dynamic, forward-thinking and delivery workforce, we are determined to attract graduates with a suite of hard and soft skills that will complement our renewed direction for a more diverse and energetic team. Our graduates will help facilitate continued change and innovation with fresh ideas, making a difference to society’s biggest issues, from climate change to the digitisation of infrastructure and the built environment.

“In a world of rapid change, and the increasing reality of artificial intelligence, automation, and digital disruption, clients are demanding innovative solutions that require creative intelligence and design thinking. It has never been more important to have a team that are not only problem solvers through traditional engineering and advisory practices, but also are able to be problem finders.

“The importance of having a mix of hard and soft, future-focused capabilities was the catalyst for Aurecon to create eight Aurecon Attributes – non-technical skills which were identified by clients as key capabilities in delivering an outstanding service; including being resourceful, co- creative, engaging, being an unconventional thinker, sense maker, inquisitive, commercial and fearless.

“Aurecon’s graduate recruitment programme is differentiated by being the ideal platform to encourage and support graduates’ strengths and capabilities in specialised fields from day one and, with that, maximise opportunities to fast track their careers on a national and international scale.

“We have teams that span energy and resources, infrastructure and built environment, which are leading the charge in dynamic and ground-breaking project delivery. We want to play a pivotal role in redefining our graduates’ impact, and offering them the opportunities and teams to fine-tune their skills from the very outset.”

Graduates are traditionally recruited from mechanical, electrical, civil, structural, chemical/ process, environmental and geotechnical engineering streams, as well as project management, surveying and planning degrees.

As part of the growth in advisory impacting graduate recruitment, Aurecon is also recruiting 31 emerging advisory professionals to support a growing advisory business in ANZ. The positions will be offered to early career practitioners or recent university graduates with degree qualifications in commerce, science, finance, arts, creative industries, IT, law, business and engineering. These graduates will form part of the advisory teams in communication and stakeholder engagement, infrastructure advisory, environment and planning, programme advisory, asset management and digital advisory.

With 12.5 percent growth in 2017 for our infrastructure advisory and programme advisory services, these 31 emerging professionals will provide further invaluable insight and innovative thinking and delivery.

“At Aurecon, we aim to provide our clients with a comprehensive and outstanding service covering all bases – from designing solutions to providing advice on how to optimise an asset for best whole- of-life outcomes,” continues Hayes

Aurecon is leading the way in employing robust, unique and innovative thinkers who have the hunger to embrace challenges and projects with tenacity and vigour. These outcomes were highlighted in the recent Limelight survey around hiring millennial employees: “Top five trends for millennial employability.”

“Aurecon is determined to create an environment in which emerging professionals can thrive and be successful in their careers, and being challenged by ground-breaking projects, says Hayes.

In 2018, Aurecon won Good Design Australia’s Award of the Year for its ‘revolutionary’ Brisbane’s Flood Recovery Ferry Terminals. The project team included engineers ranging in age. A significant number of leadership roles were filled by emerging professionals, with the support and mentorship of senior leaders. What’s more, the project leadership team was diverse, both from a gender and engineering discipline perspective.

In 2017, Aurecon was honoured to be named ‘Large Firm of the Year’ by Consult Australia, and ranked # fifth in the Australian Financial Review’s Most Innovative Companies list.