2021 Award Winners Announced
Date: 04-Jun-2021
qldwater would like to congratulate the 2021 Young Operator of the Year and Operator of the Year (Civil/All-rounder) announced at the WIOA Queensland Conference in Toowoomba last night.
Young Operator of the Year
The Queensland Young Operator of the Year for 2021 is Shannon Thomas from Unitywater.
Shannon is an Assistant Treatment Plant Operator and has been in this role for almost two years after moving over from Urban Utilities where she completed her traineeship with a Certificate III in Water Industry Treatment (Wastewater).
Colleagues describe Shannon as a confident individual who is passionate about learning and innovating. She is always looking for opportunities to improve herself and her capabilities and is currently completing a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management. She leads the monthly team bbq’s and toolbox meetings for the Maroochydore Cell group and provides a great example of living the organisation’s values of customer service and one team.
Shannon is a member of WIOA’s Diversity and Inclusion Group and has written several papers and delivered presentations on what it means to be a female operator and works hard to foster a more inclusive team and workforce.
The prize for this award would normally be participation in one of WIOA’s Operator Tours to New Zealand but if that doesn’t go ahead anytime soon then we’ll look at other options.
Operator of the Year (Civil/All-Rounder)
The qldwater Operator of the Year (Civil/All-Rounder) is Shane Bambrick from Urban Utilities.
Shane has more than 40 years in the Plumbing and Water Industry, with the last ten of those years at Urban Utilities. Shane is currently the Field Technical Lead and is used as a trainer and mentor for new staff due to his extensive knowledge and is often the “go to” Water Industry Worker for repairs.
Shane goes above and beyond to educate the wider Urban Utilities organisation in understanding what goes on in the field and has created a number of short videos about leak detection and basic repairs that he shoots with his personal drone and completes with music and video editing and shares with staff via Yammer.
Shane is a well-respected leader who demonstrates an ongoing commitment to safety – he gets involved in the introduction of new valve turners (and has developed a video for that too).
Shane’s prize includes a trophy and $1500 towards professional development activities.
AWA Operator of the Year Award
We would also like to acknowledge the AWA Operator of the Year Award winner, Shane Bandiera from Cassowary Coast Regional Council. Shane is extremely dedicated to his position as Coordinator Treatment and goes above and beyond to support his staff and ensure the effective running of Cassowary Coast’s treatment facilities. He has been a regular participant in qldwater’s activities, particularly the Water Skills Partnership and has been a long-time member of WIOA’s Queensland Committee.
Thanks to everyone who submitted nominations and to WIOA for hosting these awards.
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