Field Assistant / Sampling
Quentin
Role: Field Assistant
Company: Argyle Diamonds
Why did you choose your particular career?
I was lucky to be offered a labouring job at the Argyle Diamond Mine near to where I live in the Bow River Community.
I like being outdoors and doing things with other people and I was interested in what the company suggested I could do.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Learning new things - eg how the exploration geologists find where the underground diamonds are.
The hands-on exploration field work - especially when we are doing this work on my own country which is not all that far from the mine itself.
The working hours are good — we work five days a week, starting at 6am and finishing at 3pm.
I learn from other people showing me how to do things, once I know how to do it, I like to then get on and do it myself.
What do you like least about your work?
I can’t think of anything really.
What qualifications do you have?
I left school when I was in Year 10. My Managers tell me I can get some useful qualifications here on site. It is up to me.
How did you get into this job?
Company people from the Argyle Diamond Mine visited my community and asked me if I was interested in taking up a labourer’s job as a field assistant. I had just finished working on a Community Development Employment Program where I had done some work as a field assistant, so I said I would like to do some more work like that.
Doing it this way enables me to find out what type of work suits me and what I enjoy doing. It is getting me used to the work routine and soon I will start to do some study. Depending how well I go, this will lead me into other types of work and training.
How would you like your career to develop?
I think I would like to move around a bit, but at this stage I don't want to go too far from here. I would like to do some rotation work maybe one week on exploration work and then another on gardening in the plant nursery nearby. I would like to learn more about collecting seeds and propagating plants to grow on the minesite. This land rehabilitation work could also lead to further opportunities, either on site here at Argyle or elsewhere.
What advice have you for others who might be thinking of doing the same thing?
I have some young cousins who a have been at boarding school at St Johns School in Darwin. They are now back home and I have told them there are plenty of opportunities to become a trainee or to do an apprentice in mechanical trades here at the Argyle Mine.
