BCI Minerals is not a small company at the Mardie Project is not a small operation, with almost 100 hundred staff covering hundreds of kilometres across Perth and the Pilbara.
That’s a lot of people, a lot of distance and a lot of computers and other technology that needs to be managed.
When Liam Koppert started at Frontline Technology Services, a contractor to BCI, he had no idea it was a role that would set his career on its current trajectory.
Liam transitioned to being an employee in BCI in April and has taken on the role of IT Operations Officer.
It’s been a pleasure to welcome Liam directly into the BCI team.
Q: What is your role at BCI and what does it involve?
A: It is my role to make sure that technology runs smoothy at site, which involves managing tools, processes, procedures, and providing support to all the operational needs of Mardie. Ensuring that the solutions we have in place will help us reach our goals and deliver the project.
Q: What was your career journey to get here?
A: I've only worked in IT for two years now, all of which BCI has been involved in one way or another. I started at Frontline Technology Services on the service desk taking calls and solving issues remotely, however I was promptly moved to desktop support at BCI helping people in person around the office which opened my eyes to how big this project is and how many people were involved. My experience in the office getting to know all wonderful people helped me excel in my next role where I managed providing Frontline’s technical support services to BCI. Now with the project gaining lots of traction and an onsite role opening, I took the opportunity to get right in the middle of it all and do my best to help the project.
Q: What do you like about your job at BCI?
A: I'm looking forward to being right in the middle of it all onsite seeing the project develop right before my eyes. I absolutely love the vibrant atmosphere at BCI, where I'm constantly surrounded by positive people who all share the same goal, it fuels my own aspiration to see the project succeed. Plus creating meaningful connections and friendships along the journey is a bonus.
Q: What’s something interesting about you?
A: Most people pick it out right away with my accent or my overuse of the phrase "sweet as", but I was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. I spent a lot of my time growing up playing rugby and preforming Kapa Haka (Māori preforming songs) so much that I ended up leading the Haka for my school. Recently I received my Australian Citizenship. After moving to Australia five years ago in the middle of school, graduating, getting a certificate, and landing a job in IT, my citizenship felt like the final step of moving here so I'm very proud of that.
Q: What do you do with your weekends / spare time?
A: I mostly catch up with my mates back home online playing games together. I also spend a lot of time being the family barista and tech support, from fixing broken phone screens to showing my Nan how to turn on her phone. I also enjoy tinkering with spare computers messing with the network at home making sure I have lots of practice with breaking and fixing stuff back up.
Q: What is it about computers / electronics / etc. that you enjoy so much?
A: Ever since I knew how to restart a computer and use a mobile phone, I’ve been the tech guru for the family. So, the older I got the issues would keep coming and got more and more complicated and the sense of achievement from solving these issues got greater. That strive to solve every problem I came across just turned into a passion of understanding how it all works, which luckily enough for me was something I could turn into a career. Fortunately for me, the world of IT is full of many complicated puzzles and problems that leave me scratching my head so the funs not going to run out a anytime soon.
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“Salt of the Earth” is a fortnightly series where we get to know our dedicated team members.
To see the current opportunities at BCI Minerals, please visit our careers page: https://www.bciminerals.com.au/careers.html