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CHANCE CREATES ADVENTUROUS CAREER DETOUR by Helen Shield Communications Contractor, Construction Training Fund
Construction Training Fund CEO and NAWIC member, Tiffany Allen, is driven by a love of family, sport, adventure and the outdoors, an unshakeable work ethic and a commitment to building robust, positive connections. Her career started early, selling lollies at 10 to raise money for charity, progressing to fast food chain Hungry Jacks and a serious flirtation with the Royal Australian Air Force, where she was hoping to learn more about information technology. But a chance meeting became a major career detour. Tiffany was queuing at the post office to collect her passport before heading off for basic training. She was unhappy about an implied threat that despite passing the hurdles set, her weight, or lack of it, could derail her progression to the next stage. The Australia Post delivery centre manager, who was just about to start a recruitment drive, noticed her in the line cradling her motorcycle helmet, invited her for a next-day interview and snapped her up. Tiffany worked as a postie for three years but ended up having a 14-year career with Australia Post that included delivery, administration, redirections and parcels, sales, marketing, product development, project management and account management.
seconded Tiffany to implement and manage the Pilbara Revitalisation Plan in the newly formed Department of Regional Development and Lands and then on Royalties for Regions. She was seconded to the Housing Authority in 2013 becoming Director of Business Development and then Land and Housing Construction in 2018, with responsibility for the delivery of all departmental construction and development projects. She then led the development of the next 10-year WA Housing Strategy and was appointed Executive Director of Housing and Homelessness, before her August 2020 appointment as CEO of the Construction Training Fund. Asked about what it takes to succeed in a maledominated industry like construction, Tiffany says it’s important for leaders to hold to solid values, hard work and good ethics. “Don’t be afraid to give something a go,” she said. “Even though I went to all girls’ school, St Mary’s (Anglican Girls’ School), my brother was at Hale (School, an exclusive Anglican school for boys), so I hung out with the boys. I’m a tomboy. At Australia Post I was one of the only female posties among 40 men and I didn’t really think much of it.” “There are some great men out there, you need to find the right people to align yourself with.”
From there she worked on identity verification, taking charge of police checks when they were transferred from WA Police to Australia Post, supported the project team that built the Working with Children Check Card and then moved on to the Country Age Pension Fuel Card, a key project of then Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls.
Asked what advice she would dispense to aspiring women Tiffany Allen in CTF’s Construction Futures Centre, which is an interactive, hands-on Scitech for the construction industry. The Construction Futures Centre is rich with information about the different construction jobs on offer
Regional Development later 48
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