Mick and Amelia

The ultimate challenge for most people working in the FIFO mining industry is to achieve a balance between work and home life. Mick Mahony reckons that he may have found it.

When he started work with Dawsons Engineering in 1998, Mick was hoping to pick up steady work in Cairns, where Dawsons supply tradesmen to a wide range of local industries. Dawsons employ around 500 people each year, and Mick quickly stood out from the crowd as an excellent tradesmen, particularly strong in fabrication and working with exotic materials. “Our local clients were booking Mick weeks in advance” says Greg Hall, Dawsons’ Labour Hire Coordinator.

Since then, Mick has worked on most sites Dawsons supply to throughout North West Queensland, where he’s consistently performed well, supervising shutdown and project crews. “Mick rose to the challenge in his role of site supervisor of our engineering crew at Century, and was an invaluable steadying influence.” Says Dawsons Cairns Manager, Bernie Dalton.

When Mick and his partner Leisa had their first child, Amelia, earlier this year, Dawsons were only too happy to keep Mick busy in their Cairns Workshop so that he could be at home every night. “Dawsons recognize the value of keeping employees like Mick happy”, Bernie Dalton said. “We believe that providing variety at work is one of the keys to retaining a high quality employee. We also understand that their home lives are important, so where possible, we aim to give employees assignments to suit their situation.

“Now that Amelia is getting older, I’m ready to spend a bit more time working on site,” says Mick. “I’ve been able to combine a regular shift at Century Mine, with work in Dawsons’ Cairns Workshop. It provides an excellent balance between the best of working locally and on site.”