Australian sites supporting studies

Eighteen university students take up vacation roles

11 January 2023

The GFG Alliance Vacation Student Program continues to build momentum with eighteen fresh faces introduced to the company’s Australian operations over summer. 

Fourteen university students are currently participating in vacation placements at the Mining Primary Steel businesses in Whyalla, South Australia (SIMEC Mining Iron Ore and LIBERTY Primary Steel) through to February this year. Another three students are gaining experience at the LIBERTY Bell Bay Manganese Smelter in Tasmania and one student at the Tahmoor Coal Operations in NSW. 

The vacation students are in their penultimate year of university study ranging across engineering disciplines. During their three-month vacation program, they are assigned to a relevant area of the business to apply their theoretical knowledge, gain experience in an operational setting and work on projects.

The Whyalla students were welcomed to the business by LPS Managing Director Tony Swiericzuk and SIMEC Mining – Iron Ore Executive General Manager Jacqui Higgins before going through two days of onboarding and familiarisation. 

Seeing these students coming in gives the business a real lift”

Bianca Standing

Head of Organisation Development, Bianca Standing said the vacation students’ arrival at the business was exciting and energised the workforce as the program demonstrates the business’s commitment to rebuilding talent pipelines and subsequently building future capability.

The vacation program is a key feeder to GFG’s graduate programs, another key element of the pipeline programs, which also include apprentices and trainees. 

“Seeing these students coming in gives the business a real lift,” Bianca said. 

“The Vacation Student Program generates real excitement in the workplace as we see the potential progression into positions within the Graduate Program for these bright students.”   

Vacation students are generally studying engineering but other disciplines such as finance, procurement, IT, Safety and HR will be included going forward. 

“This intake of engineering students in Whyalla will be assigned to appropriate areas of the business to work on projects during their summer stint with us,” Bianca said. 

“It is a chance for them to get a hands-on insight into the business and hopefully apply for graduate positions in the next intake once they have finished their studies.” 

MAIN IMAGE: ON-SITE EXPERIENCE: LIBERTY Bell Bay vacation students Himanshu Sharma (Mehanical Engineer), Andy Chen (Metallurgist) and Eric Duong (Electrical Engineer)