Trenchless Australasia speaks with three excellent and hard-working women from Bothar Boring.
Bothar Boring leverages decades of experience, a robust safety culture, and an extensive fleet of specialised equipment, to deliver complex trenchless solutions around the world. The company’s ability to execute intricate projects in demanding environments has earned it a solid reputation in the realm of subsurface engineering and infrastructure development.
And just as Bothar Boring backs the trenchless industry, it in turn is backed by its team of hard-working employees. Trenchless Australasia had the pleasure of speaking with three of these team members.
Confined Space Spotter Vanessa Rashleigh spends her working days on the frontline of Bothar’s Queensland operations. Ten months ago, Rashleigh plucked up the courage to make a career change from hospitality to trenchless construction, a move she calls ‘the best decision of her working career’.
With a slew of site safety qualifications to her name, Rashleigh’s role covers everything from onsite procurement to confined space spotting and everything in between.
Her positivity and hard-working nature quickly made Rashleigh an invaluable member of the Bothar team. And for her, those feelings are mutual.
“I love being part of a great team who all work together with good ethics and respect for one another,” she said.
“Bothar Boring is very easy and approachable to work for – I’m proud to call the company my ‘working away family’.
“I’m proud of myself for moving out of my comfort zone in the middle stage of my working career and trying something new.
“To other women who might want to enter the trenchless industry I would say give it a try and don’t look back – you’ll love it.”
In Melbourne, Bothar Boring is gearing up for a pipeline of major projects and has recently hired a number of new professionals. One of those is Achini Attanayake, a Site Engineer.
Responsible for overseeing construction projects and ensuring there is minimal interruption to workflow, her role carries a lot of responsibility, but Attanayake is up for the challenge.
“As a site engineer, I enjoy being out on site and witnessing the works occurring in action,” she said.
Attanayake said the best thing about working at Bothar is the team of great people.
“It is refreshing to work in a more intimate work setting,” she said.
“This has led to stronger and more authentic relationships with coworkers.”
Attanayake shared some words of advice for other women considering a career in the trenchless.
“Unfortunately, there are still gender disparities in our industry in terms of culture, leadership and wage,” she said.
“However, things are slowly getting better and as women, we can continue to combat this by continuously standing up for ourselves even when it feels difficult and solitary to do so.”
While trenchless projects are impressive to behold, much of the work happens before anyone sets foot on site. This is something that Bothar Contracts Administrator Alexandra Lambie knows only too well.
Working within the commercial team, Lambie manages the contract and cost side of Victorian projects, from pre-construction all the way through to completion of the delivery stage.
She was drawn to the role by an interest in the intricacies of contracts.
“I have always had a keen interest in contracts themselves; as every project is different, you need to understand the clauses and the commercial triggers of each contract when a job is awarded,” she said.
While Lambie has always worked in the civil infrastructure space, working at Bothar was her first introduction to the trenchless environment.
“At Bothar, I have had many opportunities to get involved in different aspects of the project lifecycle,” she said.
“Management always wants you to learn and expand within your career, which has been exciting process for me. It’s allowed me to explore lots of different aspects during the delivery phase of a project which I’ve never had the chance to do before.
“As Bothar has a lot of exciting work starting, I’m excited to get out on site more and see the tunnelling work happen.”
Lambie encourages any women considering a career in trenchless construction to take the leap and get involved.
“There is a wide range of roles within the sector, and you’ll be able to find something that suits you,” she said.
“There is space for everyone in construction, especially women.”
For more information, visit botharboring.com.au
This article was featured in the April edition of Trenchless Australasia.
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