After a 6 year career break, Lucélia joined a STEM Returners program with Bechtel Australia. Following a successful 10 week program, Lucélia has accepted a permanent role at Bechtel.
Here is Lucélia return to work story.
Why did you join a STEM Returner program?
I joined the program because I was aiming to return to my area after 6 years away taking care of my family, I felt I still have so much to grow as a professional.
Actually, I’ve never heard about this program, and even in my sweetest dreams I never expected this happening to me like it did. I’m a Civil Engineer from Brazil with more than 10 years of experience in procurement at iron ore companies. I decided to take a break after a big incident in the mining company where I was working in 2015. I moved to Australia in October 2020, with my husband and my 2 daughters – 6 and 10 years old. With no local experience and a lack of confidence in my language skills, it was hard to seek a job.
I was working as a kitchen hand in a café, but always with an eye on LinkedIn pages, looking for a job in my area. I was helped by the Kaleidoscope Initiative to translate my curriculum to English, which made Marcail find my profile. When she first contacted me, I thought she was offering me a service to help me in job seeking. When she called me and explained about the program I found it hard to believe it was true, but I feel that was the perfect opportunity to come back.
Please give an overview of the program.
The program has interesting presentations about the company, the roles and responsibilities of each area. All the presentations were very useful to understand how big the company is, and how we can adapt our skills for what Bechtel delivers as a corporation. All the leaders in their presentations encouraged the Returners to ask questions, to be curious, this was really relevant. I must confess that I’ve never heard about Bechtel before. How amazed I was when I suddenly became part of the Hoover Dam builder! This program, in my point of view, is the perfect match between a shortage of highly specialized labour force and people like me, who have been away for a while, for any reason, and want to come back. And it’s good for both sides, actually. Specially for mums, the flexibility offered makes it possible to conciliate the different roles we must play.
What was the result?
After these 10 weeks, I can say that I learned about the company, and what are our core competencies and values that make Bechtel such a great company to work for. In my case, I was feeling incapable of adapting my previous experiences in Brazil to the local market. And how surprised I am now, finding so many similarities between the two scenarios. I was treated as part of the team all the time, taking part in activities like an amazing workshop with all the Supply Chain team. And the best part: there’s so much more to learn, to grow up as a person and professionally.
How has this program changed your career?
Taking part in this program and now being offered a permanent position gave me a new perspective about what I can do to update my skills, and improve my career. I feel like a freshman again, avid for knowledge and growing up opportunities. I want to go back to school, to study about the disciplines involved in my everyday routine, and I’m pretty sure that Bechtel is going to give me all the support and guidance on this next step in my career.
Would you recommend the program?
Absolutely yes! The team is really receptive, kind and respectful. The company is awesome and has a solid reputation worldwide. It’s never too late to restart, and the STEM Returners program was the best thing that happened for me. I have so much life ahead, raising my girls in this beautiful country which has become my home is such a dream coming true. And working for Bechtel, where I want to stay for good, is an important part of my happiness and fulfilment today.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
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