Citation read out on the night of the awards
“Ofa is a Site Engineer in Piling for Brian Perry Civil, starting onsite as an Engineering Intern supervising a small crew, to Graduate Engineer and now as the Site Engineer having experienced a wide range of piling projects in a complex range of locations on land and in the marine environment.
The Piling trade is not easy with the rotation of early mornings, late nights, and sludge-covered PPE. ‘Ofa consciously chose to be a part of an industry that was not designed for young Tongan women, and she values the differences she can bring to the workplace. She draws on her strong Tongan family upbringing to inspire her to overcome challenges.
As a Bi lingual communicator, she relates well to her work mates and often provides the bridge between office management and site crews. She believes interpersonal skills trump technical skills. Her referee described her as the ‘’shining star of the workplace’’, she has a detailed work ethic and has been promoted due to her expertise.
Ofa has a full on life and she is greatly motivated to help others, and is keen to support other Pasifika within the industry. Since leaving Uni she has mentored Uniprep students, she promotes University education to high school leavers, is involved with South Pacific Indigenous Engineering students as a mentor as she sees a way to retain people in the industry. She has been part of the Fletcher Building Careers and FCC women in Construction events, she is on the committee for the South Pacific Profession Engineering Excellence aiming to support and encourage Maori and Pasifika Professional Engineers, she has hosted and organised a GirlBoss site tour, and she has continued the contact with the students.”
Post awards question:
What has winning this award meant to you?
“Winning this award has meant that my parents' sacrifices have all been worth it!”
‘Ofa Halatanu
Keep an eye open for the 2023 dates and information on our
website
