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Work Placement Cements Skills and Career Path for ECU Student Kate Mann

Monday, 28 February 2022

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  • ECU SW health sciences student Kate Mann

    ECU SW health sciences student Kate Mann out and about with Talison Safety Advisor John Jury during her recent professional work placement at Talison's Greenbushes Lithium Operation.

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Undertaking tertiary studies in her chosen field of Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University (ECU) South-West Campus in Bunbury has given 3rd Year Bachelor of Health Sciences student Kate Mann a head-start in securing a work placement at Western Australia’s premier lithium minerals processing facility.

Kate, who is studying an Occupational and Environmental Health Safety (OEHS) major, has undertaken a 75 hour professional work placement at Talison Lithium Pty Ltd (Talison) Greenbushes Lithium Operation where she has been immersed in the fast pace of day-to-day activities across the site which has a current workforce of more than 700 people including contractors.

Kate, aged 21, grew up in Margaret River and said being based at a university in a rural setting suited her study and lifestyle needs, while the degree she had chosen would provide a good foundation for the career path she wanted to pursue.

“I didn’t want to relocate to the hustle and bustle of Perth, I wanted a different university experience and saw there would be a lot of opportunities for placements with large mining operations in the South-West in proximity to ECU South-West,” she said.

“I have chosen to focus my studies on protecting people and protecting the environment and was really interested in getting an authentic experience in mining,” Kate said.

Kate is accommodated at the Talison Worker Accommodation Camp and spends her time on site with the Safety team including the Safety Advisors and Emergency Response Team (ERT).

“Talison is community based and everyone has taken me on board and been really supportive.”

While at Talison, Kate has been at the front line of incident management scenarios, COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) and reviewing and updating permits which has provided an opportunity to apply her knowledge and skills.

“I couldn’t imagine a life without an opportunity to learn and grow and my time at Talison has given me real-life experience and cemented my initial thoughts about the career I want to pursue,” said Kate.

Kate hopes the professional work placement at Talison will also provide her with valuable networks and opportunities to streamline her transition from University to the workplace.

Talison General Manager-Operations, Craig Dawson, said Talison fully supported education and pathways to create a pipeline of skilled people to support the resources sector.

“We have a range of opportunities to encourage people to get a foot-in-the-door to the industry, including our traineeships, apprenticeships, graduate programmes, work experience and professional placements through integrated learning opportunities” said Mr Dawson.

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