The Tasmanian Liberal Government is building safer and more efficient roads all around Tasmania as part of the 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future providing employment opportunities for men and women.
Four outstanding women working on the New Bridgewater Bridge Project have been recognised for their contribution to the construction industry at the 2024 ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Tasmania Awards for Excellence.
Taking home almost half of the awards on offer, the women all work for construction contractor McConnell Dowell in key roles on the state’s largest transport infrastructure project.
Minister for Infrastructure, Kerry Vincent, said the annual awards celebrated excellence, innovation and empowerment in the construction industry and shone a spotlight on the remarkable achievements of these women.
“It’s just one more reason we have to be extremely proud of this project and the team behind it,” Mr Vincent said.
“Having such a presence of winners from the Bridgewater Bridge is a credit to the team for not only delivering our biggest ever transport infrastructure project, but making sure it is creating local opportunities and increasing diversity in the sector.
“The winners are all fantastic professionals and a credit to themselves and those supporting them in their careers,” he said.
About the awards
McConnell Dowell/New Bridgewater Bridge winners
Training and Development specialist, Naomi Walker was awarded the Crystal Vision Award for her work in encouraging and promoting the advancement of women in construction.
Naomi is passionate about creating pathways to employment and training as well as building the capability pipeline for future Tasmanian projects.
She will go on to represent McConnell Dowell and the New Bridgewater Bridge Project at the ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ awards in New South Wales in early 2025.
Tiarna Bricknell joined the Project two years ago as a construction site cleaner, and quickly moved into the project’s Stakeholder Engagement and Communications team.
Recognising a gap in attracting young women to the construction industry, Tiarna set up a school tour program that has seen nearly 800 local students tour the project site, with many keen to develop a career in the construction industry.
Tiarna look home the Next Step Scholarship worth $5,000, which she will use for training to allow her to take on other important projects across the State.
Labourer Tahlia Bennett won the Achievement by a Tradesperson Award for her work in the project’s precast facility in Bridgewater. Originally working in the local bottle shop, Tahlia went through the project’s pre-employment program.
She was soon employed on the project full time and is the precast facility’s only female indoor gantry crane operator.
Graduate Environmental Engineer, Steph Holterhoff was the recipient of the Innovation and Sustainability Award and enjoys the complex nature of the environmental management on the project and its fast-paced nature.
