We would like to extend a huge congratulations to our St Hilliers ‘model’ and former Cadet, Tim Kamensky for recently graduating from his Bachelor of Urban Development (Honours), Quantity Surveying and Cost Engineering.
Now in the role of Contract Administrator, Tim is working across multiple projects including the Phase 6 Force Level Electronic Warfare project, the Cabarlah LIA 90s Condominium Refurbishment, and the RAAF Base Amberley 9 FSB works.
Tim has been with the St Hilliers family for over two years now and has had an amazing experience and journey on our Cadetship program. He is heavily involved in our Reconciliation Group and has developed great relationships with subcontractors and suppliers over this time.
We sat down and asked Tim about his time with us, what inspired him to get into the construction industry, the highlight of his career so far and what the future holds for him.
What made you want to get into the construction industry?
I was interested in construction from a young age, which prompted me to get involved in the industry. This interest encouraged me to work on projects that could make a real difference in society. The construction industry has provided me with many possibilities, where I have met many diverse individuals, extended my knowledge, and have been given opportunities that have grown my interest in this industry.
You’ve worked for St Hilliers for over 2 years now, how would you describe the culture surrounding internal growth and direction?
St Hilliers provides a culture that supports flexibility, growth and change, heavily promoting a space for self-actualisation. There is a strong focus on initiative, which has allowed me to grow my skills both personally and professionally. The company offers and promotes many opportunities for internal growth and has a positive mentality of “take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business” as stated by the Founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson.
You’ve been through the cadetship program – can you please elaborate on your experience and what the process was like, assisting you through the completion of your studies?
The Cadetship program at St Hilliers is a much-needed ‘stepping stone’ in the world of practical learning, as informative learning meets hands-on construction reality. The program provides many construction facets to learn and accomplish which aligned directly with my university studies and provided me with real-life examples of the content being taught.
My journey began in estimating where I was able to gain a thorough understanding of tendering, measuring, collating prices from subcontractors and providing cost estimates to complete a construction project. The St Hilliers cadetship gave me a lot of flexibility, allowing me to choose which sector of the construction industry I wanted to progress in, ranging from design, health and safety, project engineering or contract administration. It was challenging to manage both university and full-time work, but I am thankful for the continual support St Hilliers has given me, and I am fortunate to have been giving the opportunity to complete my cadetship.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
A memorable moment for me would have to be when I worked on my very first tender. After a great deal of effort from the estimating team and me, it was successfully awarded to St Hilliers. This was such an incredible feeling. St Hilliers also provided me with the opportunity to move to delivery upon award of a project at tender time. It was great to see a project through from tender all the way to project completion.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I would like to continue growing at St Hilliers and aim toward becoming a Project Manager that delivers projects on time, with high quality, “nailing” down the details on every requirement put forth.
If you could thank anyone in this industry to date, who would it be and why?
I would like to thank Luke Ashley-Cooper for starting my construction journey and Robin Waller for the continual support at St Hilliers.
