There’s no question that the construction industry is experiencing an intense period of growth. With BMD’s significant pipeline of current and future projects, this trend is something we expect to continue for the next 5 to 10 years at least. My team of human resources and recruitment specialists alone has almost tripled in the past 12 months, a telling indication of the number of resources BMD will need to support the delivery of our upcoming projects. Naturally, if there’s that much opportunity within the pipeline for BMD, then there’s just as much opportunity for individuals in the business to grow with us.
Growth and progression in your career from a graduate role to a senior leadership position, in many ways, requires a whole different skill set.
You’re no longer ‘down in the detail’, you’re moving away from the hyper-technical aspects of delivering projects. Your mindset needs to shift, thinking more broadly about what’s best for the business, and how to build high performing teams to get us there.
Being a leader at BMD means you communicate with influence, and you invest the time in building effective and mutually beneficial relationships with our valued clients, partners, subcontractors and employees.
And that is what’s so exciting about BMD’s internal graduate development program, Foundations. The program is all about setting graduates up for a long and successful career at BMD and embedding in them the leadership qualities that will serve them well into the future as they progress through the ranks, something we are very passionate about.
While other organisations centre their graduate programs on rotational placements where newcomers can get a taste of the different tasks they enjoy, Foundations is about giving our grads the building blocks they need to enjoy a long-term career, taking advantage of the many diverse opportunities available at BMD. Here are my insights into the key benefits of BMD’s Foundations program:
Diverse streams
We pursue a very diverse range of opportunities at BMD. Diversity in the wide range of projects and scope of works we deliver, clients we work with, locations we operate in and contract values. Naturally, this facilitates the need for a diverse range of experiences and specialists. Our Foundations program is relevant to all graduates, whether you studied engineering, environmental science, WHS, human resources, marketing, accountancy or law. The skills you’re learning in our Graduate Program will be relevant for your career no matter what, and the access you gain to BMD’s Board of Directors, senior management and emerging leaders through the program, means that opportunities and pathways are created based on your individual strengths and to the various streams within the business.
Behavioural development
BMD works with leading behavioural development specialists to run our 18-month, custom-built Foundations modules. Learning modules on topics like critical thinking, problem-solving, cross-cultural teams and innovation is all about teaching our graduates the mastery of leading and managing high performing teams. And while these may not be skills you need as a graduate, they’re definitely what you’ll need as a Senior Project Engineer or General Manager, and BMD’s recruitment strategy has always been about career progression and succession through the ranks to get you to this point.
Building your BMD family
BMD’s family value is all about supporting your workmates as if they’re your own flesh and blood. We spend a lot of time at work, and you need to build a strong team environment where people have each other’s back and feel supported. Our first Foundations module brings graduates from across the country together in a kick-off conference on the Gold Coast, giving our grads the opportunity to network with their peers, share experiences and build relationships.
Graduates also have direct access to BMD’s Board of Directors and executive management team, hearing directly from these inspiring leaders on how they’ve forged a long and rewarding career with BMD, instilling in our grads from the get-go that our unique values and inclusive culture are fundamental to our individual and collective success.