Picture this: You’re fresh out of school, stacking shelves at the local supermarket or doing something similar without a clear career pathway. You decide to try something new – civil construction – and five years later you’re a skilled professional working on multi-million-dollar infrastructure projects.
Fantasy? Not for Jacob Walmsley and Jethro Staite, who both started their civil construction journeys as labourers with zero experience and built careers that now see them helping to shape the future of New Zealand’s infrastructure in project leadership roles.
Their stories prove that in the world of civil construction, you don’t need to have it all figured out from day one, just a willingness to take a chance and see where it leads.
Jacob’s journey: From supermarket to site engineer
Brian Perry Civil Senior Project Engineer Jacob Walmsley seized an opportunity that came up and has never looked back.
“I actually left school not knowing what I wanted to do at all.”
Jacob was working at a supermarket and decided to join his mates in signing up with a labour-hire company, despite having never worked in construction before he was 18 years old.
It was that spur of the moment and ultimately fortuitous decision that led to him landing an ideal role in an industry he loves.
The labour-hire company placed him with Brian Perry Civil, where his enthusiasm didn’t go unnoticed. After 18 months, the company offered him a cadetship to pursue a civil engineering diploma. It meant four years of studying part-time while working full-time, but Jacob was treated as a site engineer from the start, learning new things every day as he tackled real challenges.
“You just kind of adapt and that’s what you have to do. As you learn, you learn there’s still so much more you don’t know. If you want to keep improving, you can. You just keep expanding your knowledge, that’s the exciting thing.
“There’s a lot of room to be yourself in construction. There’s a lot of different individuals, you meet a lot of characters, and so you feel comfortable being yourself.”
As part of his dedication to self-development, Jacob has completed more than 30 training courses and managed to get straight As in all his engineering subjects, making it no great surprise that he won the Z Energy Personal Improvement Award in 2023.
Leading teams on key projects like Wellington’s $7M Taranaki Street Pump Station project in Wellington has given him ample opportunity to put the knowledge he’s gained into practice.
Jacob’s advice for newcomers reflects the wealth of different opportunities in civil infrastructure.
“There’s so many avenues … there’s engineering, carpentry. If you want to be a foreman or superintendent, there’s excavator operator, crane operator. Everyone has a cool job in construction in my opinion – there’s something for everyone.”
Jethro’s journey: Great mentors and a good attitude drive success
Jethro Staite credits his rise through the ranks from labourer to Construction Supervisor at Brian Perry Civil to a simple but important philosophy: learn from everyone who knows more than you.
“Every person I worked with that was senior to me, I always wanted to go in with the attitude that this person’s been doing this for a long time and they’ve got a lot of knowledge, so I just want to learn as much off these older guys as I can.”
Jethro says having a supportive team around him has also been a key part of his development.
“I’ve been extremely lucky to work with some fantastic teams, right from when I was a labourer, right through the cycle of my career.
“Every step of the way I’ve just worked with really genuine, really good people, that have just always wanted to share their skill set with me.”
Starting off as a labourer on the Mackays to Peka Peka expressway project, a year later he found himself promoted to managing a team of four. When an opportunity to assist with the Kaikōura rebuild project as a leading hand came up, he leapt at the opportunity and was soon managing 10 people to build three seawalls.
Capping off an outstanding year of achievement, Jethro won the Emerging Leader Award at the Wellington Wairarapa Civil Contractors New Zealand Branch Awards and the Z Energy Personal Improvement Award in 2024.
Jethro says career seekers should know that there’s a place for everyone in civil infrastructure.
“The thing with construction is, it’s so vast… it’s not just about digging holes and pouring concrete and putting piles in the ground. There’s so many different areas you can work in.
“For anyone that’s trying to understand where their career pathway might be … talk to a contractor. All of these companies have got fantastic programmes and they’re always looking to find new people.”
He says companies are generally eager to help people find their niche, regardless of what their career history might be.
“If … you are an unskilled person it’s also a fantastic way to upskill and you don’t need to start in construction [with] skills, you just need a good attitude and just turn up to work and be willing to do a good day’s work and you can go a long way.”
Your turn to build something epic
Jacob and Jethro’s journeys illustrate that in the world of civil infrastructure, your starting point doesn’t determine your destination, it’s more of a launch pad – if you’re willing to put in the effort, be curious about learning new skills and be open to opportunities.
Whether you’re stacking shelves, studying at school, or simply searching for your next move, remember that every project engineer and construction supervisor had to start somewhere.
Ready to reverse-engineer your own success story? Have a tiki tour through the world of civil infrastructure opportunities in our Careers Roadmap, jump on TradeMe Jobs and check out the opportunities, or contact experienced recruitment and labour hire companies like AWF, RobLawMax, RB Recruitment, Franklin Smith, Remarkable People or OneStaff to get your foot in the door.
As Jacob and Jethro discovered, you just need to be willing to pick up the tools and get started, in order to be leading major infrastructure projects a few years later. All you need is the courage to take the first step.
