Are you overqualified for FIFO? Darrin shares his experience with Jason Drynan.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

– At 34 did a apprenticeship as an. Get up at 5:30 and I will be in my room, probably nine o’clock.

– Good day, I’m Jason and welcome to another episode of Fit4FIFO. This week we meet Darrin from New Zealand, where he shares with us the long road he’s taken and proves that you’re never too old to retrain. He demonstrates to us his ‘give-anything-a-go’ attitude and what it has helped him achieve. And shares with us an important tip, which he planned for two years prior to starting FIFO. So, let’s go and meet Darrin. Darrin, welcome to Fit4FIFO mate.

– Thanks.

– [Jason] Firstly, I’ll just ask you, or get you to tell us a little bit about yourself?

– 47. Did an apprenticeship, from New Zealand, sorry. Did an apprenticeship as a fitter turner, originally at 18. And got into a bit of a nice job, I was too comfortable, you know. Sort of things, stay there all your life. I didn’t really enjoy it, but it was good money. Decided to, saw my mates that did instrumentation and electrical and I quite liked that. Cause, you know, they never really work that hard. Working with metal, I was always sweating and banging things and heating stuff up. And my mates’ are just like with a little screwdriver. I was like, “I want a bit of that.” At 34, I did a apprenticeship in industrial instrumentation for three and a half years.

– [Jason] Where at was that?

– This is back in New Zealand. A paper mâché mill. So, a paper mill.

– Making paper mâché.

– But now that I’m in oil and gas I paper mâché. Kids. So, did that. It was pretty hard, you know, going back to learning and all that sort of stuff. Even the kids were like, “Man, I can’t believe “at your age, your still studying.” They’re just like, “You must be so dumb.” I was like, “You just wait, you just wait.” It was hard but it was good. Good goal.

– [Jason] Good choice.

– And when I did that, I finished that, and I decided to leave the mill. Which was like, nobody ever does that. And that was like the scariest thing to do. Cause, you know, you just stay there for life.

– [Jason] Yeah, right.

– So, left and didn’t have any job to go do anything. That was where I ended up, just starting my own instrument business, and just contracting out. It was good, and then ended up in another mill job. And did another full electrical apprenticeship. Cause everybody wants dual trade.

– Yeah, you’re right.

– I thought once you did instruments, that was it. But then they all want dual trades. Did another electrical apprenticeship, then decided to just getting comfortable again. And said to the missus I wanna go and try this FIFO thing out. And here I am.

– Money wasn’t a factor, and you could do anything you wanna do in life, what would it be?

– Helicopter pilot.

– That would be pretty cool actually. Right, so, tell us a bit about your position in FIFO. And your experience in FIFO?

– This is my first one, and also, coming to Australia. CSU instru, so Commissioning and Start Up instru, I did not know anything at what I was gonna do. Did not knowanything about it. But my mate pretty much started here, seven, eight months before me and sorta schooled me up, and pretty much got me the job really.

– Say you’re back, just left school, you didn’t have the experience, any experience or trade behind you. However, you had the knowledge of this industry, FIFO industry, of how it all works. How would you go back getting into it? Straight out of school.

– You really need to go and get a trade. Even back in New Zealand now, getting a dual trade, electrical instrument, it’s just very hard. It almost comes down to who you know, to be honest. I think in Australia, it may be a bit easier. You still have a lot of apprenticeships going. For electrical, and you can get your trade experience on your instruments.

– So, FIFO work is facing probably a lot of different problems I suppose than someone who works in the city.

– Yeah.

– What would you say, something or one of them is and how do you deal with it?

– I think mainly is dealing with problems back home. Even just little, you know, computer won’t start, just with family. Computer won’t start or car won’t start and you know, just with your partner or missus or whatever. Or their wife or kids are playing up. They ring you up and there’s not a lot you can, quite frustrating, you can’t just go. So, that’s, for myself it was. We made sure pretty much, set up as in, got the missus two years before I come over here to take care of all the finances. Before I used to do all that. So she’s comfortable with all of that, she got friends who she knows to ring if something breaks down and good and abled and that sort of stuff. I think it’ll be very hard with guys with young kids.

– In regards to coming from New Zealand, tell us about a typical day of travel. What it involves to get to work.

– Here in Curtis Island it’s not too bad. I normally get up at half past five, back in New Zealand. And I catch a little domestic plane up to Auckland, which is a city in New Zealand, if most people don’t know Auckland. And jump on a plane over to Brisbane, and hang out in Brisbane for quite a few hours. And end up in Gladstone about half past five, which is half past seven New Zealand time.

– So another flight from Brisbane to Gladstone?

– Yeah, a flight from Brisbane to Gladstone. And then wait around there for a bit, bus trip and then I’ll ferry, another bus trip. But that’s normally all day.

– Alright, so, what you leave at 5:30?

– Get up at 5:30 and I’m normally in my room, probably, nine o’clock New Zealand time. It’s a long day but I don’t find it quite, I don’t find it stressful or anything like that.

– Do you have to pay for anything, like during that travel?

– The company pays me back to Auckland. But my next gig, just with the way the situation is with FIFO at the moment. Sorta swinging more to the business side and taking away sort of certain privileges, I’d say my next one I’ll be paying myself back to Auckland. Which is what a lot of guys do anyway.

– [Jason] From New Zealand?

– Yeah, so I’ll just base myself point or higher Brisbane. And fly myself back to New Zealand.

– And does it still make it financially viable to do it?

– Very much so, yeah.

– So, I suppose you come from another country, you are close to Australia and what not but, do you think there’s more banter thrown at you, being from New Zealand? Or is it all the same?

– Nah. Exactly the same to be honest. Maybe a different type of banter but, I’ve been in heavy industry all my life and it’s pretty much exactly the same. Yeah Exactly the same, might be slightly different but it’s still exactly the same.

– Like you were saying before you started, FIFO a bit later in life.

– Yes, should have started early.

– What difficulties did you face getting into it? Was it much of a challenge?

– No, it just hoot straight down to who you know really. I think if you know someone who’s in it, and they can vouch for your qualifications and skills , then you have no dramas.

– Sweet as this, that was joys. We’re mates, banter. Thanks for tuning in, I hope you enjoyed that. Next week’s episode we got Darrin back for part two of his interview, where he tells us about what the hardest thing is for him working in FIFO. And talks to us about the problems with some of the current rosters on offer. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for regular updates. And don’t forget to subscribe to our channel, thanks.

– I’ve done that once in a year and it’s, yeah, it makes a big difference. But who’s in drugs and strippers, and that sorta stuff.