At just 31 years old, Bryn Pearson has already shared life-changing skills in the Solomon Islands, won a public-speaking award, and become known in the roading industry as a master practitioner of the ‘black arts’ – that means bitumen construction, for the uninitiated.

Fulton Hogan’s National Surfacing Products Lead is proud of what he has achieved, putting his success down to taking on challenges that take him outside of his comfort zone, starting with being a volunteer firefighter throughout high school in Balclutha.

“I’ve always tried to push myself and been keen to be involved with helping people and communities out.”
Bryn says he’s come a long way since starting off as a civil engineering cadet in 2014 and, while he says his current role is quite a change from his previous hands-on operational work, he’s loving it.

Since 2022 he has provided technical support to Fulton Hogan’s teams around road surfacing, sharing expertise built up over eight years of road engineering experience and managing road surfacing teams across New Zealand.

Bryn recently delivered nine back-to-basics road maintenance workshops for chip sealing crews across Fulton Hogan’s 17 regions, passing his knowledge on to the people who can make best use of it. Half the workshop was delivered in the classroom and the other half was out in the field putting the knowledge into practice.

“It’s been awesome to get out with the teams again, because that’s where all the real work gets done.”

Bryn says one of the highlights of his career was an “awesome” three-month trip to Solomon Islands in 2016, working with its Ministry of Education to upskill staff in asset- and project-management skills as part of a Downer and Volunteer Services Abroad joint initiative.

“It was an amazing opportunity to throw myself in the deep end of a different culture.

“My career wouldn’t have got to where it is now without saying yes to things like going to the Solomons or stepping into a technical role and I wouldn’t have had the chance to do some cool things that a lot of people don’t get the chance to do.”

Presenting to groups has become a passion of Bryn’s and he recently put his public speaking skills to the test at Civil Contractors New Zealand’s The Black Art bitumen construction conference, where he spoke about best practices in winter road surfacing methods.

Bryn won the Young Presenter Award for the presentation, recognising his skill as an engaging speaker and his proficiency, at a relatively young age, in a skill that many are afraid to try.

“It was a bloody good feeling to get it done. The more public speaking you do the better you feel about it and the more confident you are. I’m quite happy to stir the pot with some topics and get people thinking.”

Looking ahead five years, Bryn says he would like to get back into an operational role, like a divisional manager, but still as a practitioner of the ‘black art’.

“I’ve just got such a passion for the surfacing business and managing staff is something I miss.

“It’s really rewarding when you see success in your teams and I’ve been lucky to be able to help a lot of younger staff grow – seeing them succeed and progress through roles in the industry.”

With the government’s Roads of National Significance initiative due to start over the next three years, Bryn says the need for staff in the road maintenance sector is going to be huge.

“It’s a massive opportunity and it’s going to be great for everyone, especially for people wanting to get into the industry.”

He says there are now more ways than ever for young people to pick up the tools of the trade, with many businesses offering apprenticeships, cadetships and scholarships that let new staff experience different types of work before deciding on what they want to do.

“Just give it a go and grasp the opportunities that come up. The first role you get into in the industry might not be your cup of tea, but there’s so many different options out there to build your own career.”