Company expecting a turnover of $8 million this year
A GRADUATE of Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT) is proof positive that young Irish expatriates are blossoming abroad.
Construction Management graduate, Declan White (28) is making the very best of a bad situation.
With 70 employees working in his company, the Monford Group, Declan is anticipating a turnover of $8milion this year.
Speaking to the Limerick Post, the former LIT student said he was lucky enough to fall into a job as a Project Manger, when he arrived in North Western Australia. “Then I saw that there were opportunities in the market and decided I would go out on my own – I started off with a small crew who had vast experience between them in every area of construction from home and I’ve no problem sourcing labour because of the flow of Irish lads coming over. I’m delighted to say that after a while I had the best lads in the industry.”
Declan’s company has now made a name for itself providing construction services to the country’s fast-growing oil and gas industry.
The Wexford native said that a lot of companies in Australia will not employ people on working holiday visas because they can only be employed for a six month period, run for six months, so it suits me fine”.
His staff works six-week stints in north Western Australia working 12-hour days in temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius.
Declan himself arrived on a six-month working holiday Visa in 2008. After just two years in the country he has secured permanent residency and is sponsoring fellow Irish emigrants arriving in the country. “Having a good degree in construction management helped and so did being a member of Chartered Institute of Builders (CIOB)”.
James Collins, head of Built Environment at LIT, said that programmes such their Construction Management degree courses are accredited by recognised bodies such as the CIOB”.
Declan, started out in construction in his early teens during the boom years.
“From the age of 13 on I was always out on site every Saturday during the summer and on school holidays.
It is clear from talking with him that he has a passion for construction and loves being on site.
He admits that the administration side of the business has not been easy.
“Australia has one of the most stringent tax systems in the world so I have to make sure everything is in order and above board”.
To facilitate him get back on site he has employed another Irish emigrant, a 52 year-old accountant, as general manager.
Workers for Declan White’s Monford Group in Perth, Western Australia.
