Kim Dalton

Dawsons Engineering is a family owned and operated business and for a long time now, their employees have enjoyed the convivial, relaxed atmosphere of a large family. They currently have all variations of family connections working for them - brothers, father and son, uncle and nephew, cousins, husband and wife and now father and daughters.

The situation over the last couple of months has seen the tag “family business” taken to a new level, with the Dalton’s – Bernie, Kim and Lisa – competing with the Dawson family to have the most family members employed within the business.

Bernie started with Dawsons as the Site Manager at Century Mine and was an integral part of the roll out of the Century Support Services Alliance. He has since worked at numerous sites as a project manager and recently celebrated his fifth year with Dawsons by taking a well deserved break in Europe.

Earlier this year, his younger daughter, Kim, joined the Cairns office in a temporary capacity before taking off to Europe for a holiday. “She fitted in really well, so we were very happy to have her back after her holiday” says Labour Hire Manager Sharon Dawson. “She’s been an extremely versatile member of the team and is now working in the Labour Hire division, sourcing and placing employees.”

When it was decided that there was a need for an additional member in the Labour Hire and Admin team, Kim suggested her older sister, Lisa. “We had to consult with Bernie” says Sharon, “we were initially unsure of how the family dynamics would work in the office. We needn’t have worried, the Daltons are a great combination, both at work and socially.”

“We take it as an endorsement of Dawsons as a great place to work” says Sharon Dawson. “Our database statistics show clearly that word of mouth is still the most effective way for employees to find us, so when someone is happy enough working here, that they recommend it to family, that is a great thing.”