THE BEST THING ABOUT MY JOB IS THE VARIETY OF OPPORTUNITIES AND THE CULTURE

MEL

Mel began her career at Orrcon Steel as a Production Operator in 2016. Her initial goal was to learn new skills and advance in her career. Five years later, Mel accomplished these goals, becoming a Mill Operator and now in a Production Support role.

Now that her initial goals have been met, Mel’s new goal is to keep gaining experience in her current position to see where her career may go.

She was the first female Mill Operator, which undoubtedly has been one of her proudest professional achievements throughout her career.

Mel believes safety has increased in importance and improved in recent years at Orrcon Steel.

When asked what she liked best about her job, Mel said it was the variety of opportunities and the culture at Orrcon Steel.

“Getting on-the-job experience and development has helped me enormously and the support from my supervisors and team leaders has helped me progress in my career journey,” Mel states.

I’VE LEARNT THAT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING TO HAPPEN, YOU CAN’T JUST WAIT FOR IT; YOU HAVE TO GO AFTER IT

TONY

Tony started with Metalcorp in 2000 as an Operations/Welder team member. His career journey was unplanned, and he says, “I was a customer buying products for the family and was offered a six-month job until I planned to travel overseas in my gap year before university started”.

Tony has always desired to be pushed to be the best that he can be. He is now not only the Branch Manager of Metalcorp Dubbo, but also the NSW Rural Manager. Although this initial path was never intended, Tony aims to continually improve, expand, and grow the Dubbo site to reach its full potential.

“Hard work, going above and beyond, and constantly engaging and developing the people who work for me have all contributed to my current position,” Tony says.

He has had a variety of opportunities throughout his career, including working with people in the business who share the same mindset and goals, and working for customers who appreciate what we do for them.

Tony’s professional advancement has yielded numerous benefits.

“There have been so many wonderful things,” he says. “I don’t believe I can single out one professional accomplishment for which I am the proudest. Moving from the old site, reaching 20 years of service, winning the innovation award, winning some of the largest sales and customers, and keeping my staff safe are just a few examples.”

Tony has held positions such as Operations Manager, Sales, Branch Manager, and NSW Rural Manager over the years. “I’ve learned that if you want something to happen, you can’t just wait for it; you have to go after it.”

“Over the years, Metalcorp has provided me with a variety of personal and professional development opportunities that have aided and advanced my career. I’ve had the opportunity to work with and learn from some wonderful people and participate in some large projects, which have allowed me to learn from the mistakes we’ve made along the way,” Tony states.

A MILL OPERATOR’S EXCITING JOURNEY TO SHIFT SUPERVISOR AND CULTURE CHAMPION

SALU

Salu’s journey with Orrcon Steel shows just how many opportunities are available if you “have a plan or a pathway in mind and share it with your supervisor”.

His time at Orrcon Steel has been filled with stimulating and rewarding personal and professional development opportunities. Starting in the packing bay, Salu was determined to learn multiple workstations on the mill, and within three years, had become a multi-skilled mill operator.

“The support of managers through development opportunities and mentoring has made my journey easier and rewarding at the same time. There are two prominent managers that are still with our business who have played a big part in my journey. Without a doubt, I could easily pick up the phone and chat with them, which has been a highlight, knowing they are still with the business.”

“What most fulfils me is seeing team members develop and achieve their goals,” he says.

A memorable experience for Salu was participating in a pilot leadership program ‘Orrcon Insights’, allowing him to work alongside colleagues from different areas of the business, and learn about those areas. With continuous support and coaching from site managers and the general manager, he has identified his path and opportunities within himself.

So, what’s in store for the future? Salu would like to work closely with others in the business to learn more and share his knowledge and experiences.

“I would like to transition into a management job where I can impact, contribute and add value to our people and the company plan by using all of my experience, particularly my recent leadership training and role as Culture Champion.

“Overall, I have enjoyed the opportunities that have been provided to me, and working alongside good people, each who have played a big part in my career by believing in my ability to grow and develop.”

HAVE MORE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY AND RUN THROUGH EACH DOOR THAT OPENS FOR YOU!

NANCY

Nancy characterises her career journey as a “non-traditional road that a few people told me wasn’t doable”. She started her job as an Account Coordinator in 2013. Nancy discusses how her main goal when she initially started was to work for a large company with opportunities for promotion. “I came from a small government-contracted employment agency and had completed but not used my business degree. I intended to put my business degree to use by working for a huge organisation, which was something I had never done before.” “I have accomplished my goal. There have been many possibilities to enhance my knowledge and skills in various roles across various sites,” Nancy continues. “I have put my business degree to work, and I have developed as a person overall.”

Even though Nancy’s path was unplanned, she said that she saw every chance as a door that had been opened for her. Her career has taken her to a variety of positions. “I moved from an Account Coordinator in our Upstream business in Braeside VIC to a newly created post as Operations Coordinator at BlueScope Distribution, a downstream business of around 32 people, of which I was 2IC (second in charge). After that, I was offered a six-month secondment as a State Supply Chain Manager for the same downstream sector. I then returned to our Upstream business as an Operations Coordinator in our Westernport VIC Manufacturing plant in the Metal Coating department of 130 workers, where again I was 2IC (second in charge).”

Nancy is now the Branch Manager for Metalcorp/Orrcon Steel Morwell. Nancy believes that the best career advice she has received was to “forget role titles, departments, and structure; instead, micro-analyse your role into what you enjoy or dislike and allow that to direct you into what you aspire to next”. This advice has stuck with her to this day. Nancy has seized the opportunities that have come up. She mentions some of the personal and professional development opportunities she has been exposed to that have helped her advance in her career. These include being a mentor for an up-and-coming supervisor going through a Leadership course, chairing the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and getting the Branch Manager role.

Nancy’s experience exemplifies the variety of roles and opportunities available and the various paths your career can take you down. “The belief in me from the company overall has been very humbling.” Nancy was quite young when she first started and believed it was a very official and structured industry at the time. She could see that there were just a few women in positions of influence or management roles that she could visibly aspire to. However, as Nancy has progressed in the company, she has observed the company’s trajectory towards becoming a more inclusive and welcoming place to work.

“There have been some visible changes in structure, policy, and capital dollars spent,” Nancy says. “But there have also been some other not-so-obvious changes in the way the business has prioritised its attitude towards the support of this purpose.”

Nancy may be pleased with various facets of her career success. Her proudest moment, though, was being nominated by her peers for two Women in Industry Awards.

Her next professional step will be to listen to her own advice: “Micro-analyse my current position, and when the negatives start to outweigh the advantages for me at the time, then it’s time to move on to my next challenge.” She adds that her involvement in people and team development has been the most enjoyable aspect of her career thus far, and she may consider returning to that field as her next move.

FROM THE FASHION AND HAIR INDUSTRY TO THE STEEL INDUSTRY

LESLEY

“I started in Orrcon Steel’s Supply Chain department as a stock analyst in early 2016,” Lesley says. Her goal at the start of her career was to see if the skills she had gained from working in the fashion and hair industry could be transferred to a completely different industry. Even though steel is the furthest thing from fashion and hair, Lesley could see that she could translate her skills and develop new ones. She is now Demand & Analytics Manager.

“I have had great managers who are interested in my development both in my profession and personal development,” Lesley says, explaining how she got to where she is now.

Orrcon Steel had just joined BlueScope and switched systems in 2016. Lesley was introduced not long after this, bringing her a slew of new changes and challenges.

“It was an exciting and thought-provoking time for me to witness and be a part of”.

“One of the really great things about Orrcon Steel, being a part of the BlueScope business, is that there are also so many potential opportunities to explore different parts of the steel industry, so I feel really comfortable that if I was ever looking for a change, there would be ways to get that without having to uproot completely.”

Lesley’s career has steadily advanced over the years. She was given the opportunity to take on a management position after her previous manager moved on.

“This felt like a natural progression for me, so I was happy to take on the change in my role because I knew I would have the support I needed to work through the tasks that might be new to me. My team has several different functions, so there has been a learning curve to understand them better. Because I am naturally curious, my natural inclination is to learn new things to broaden my understanding and better determine solutions to business challenges.”

As can be seen from the beginning, Lesley is eager to see and learn new skills and experiences that Orrcon Steel can provide for her and her team.

KEEP GOING AND NEVER STOP LEARNING

ALYSSA

In 2016, Alyssa started her journey at Orrcon Steel as a warehouse team member with the goals of advancing into senior leadership and making a solid living. Alyssa has progressed in her role in Orrcon Steel’s warehouse area and is on the way to achieving her goals.

Along the way, Alyssa took up the personal and professional development opportunities provided to advance her career.

In the last six years, she has accomplished a Certificate III in Warehousing and achieved qualifications in advanced load restraint twice. Her perseverance and focus on learning have contributed to her career progression. Alyssa says that the recognition from her team and others in the business has provided her with some of her proudest professional moments.

She reflects on her early time at Orrcon Steel and what most enabled her to reach her current position.

“My trainers and welcome team helped me get to where I am now,” she states. This illustrates that strong and enduring relationships can be created at work through cooperation, trust, friendliness and going above and beyond to assist one another.

Alyssa has noted a very positive shift in safety awareness.

“The importance of safety and the protocols that we have put in place has developed a lot since 2016. It is encouraging to see that our people are aware of the safety measures implemented throughout the years.”

She also appreciates the focus on work-life balance. “The flexibility is something I have enjoyed while at Orrcon Steel,” Alyssa says.

In the future, she hopes to continue her career journey with Orrcon Steel by moving into Dispatch and Processing.