I have been at my organization, Oakajee Port and Rail (OPR) for about 2 weeks now, and I get the feeling I never want to leave!
I guess most of you reading this first questioned what OPR was, and if you didn’t then yay!
Oakajee Port and Rail was established in September 2007 as a joint venture between Murchison Metals Ltd, Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd and Crosslands Resources Ltd. OPR is the developer of the Oakajee deepwater port and rail infrastructure project (Oakajee is located 25 kms north of Geraldton), and the project will be linked to regional mines by approximately 570km of heavy haulage rail. This bulk commodity supply chain will transport iron ore from Western Australia’s mid-west to customers in the Asia Pacific region.
The project will:
- Deliver iron ore from mines across the mid-west region to international markets via a modern rail system and new deepwater port at Oakajee
- Underpin the broader development port at Oakajee
- Overcome constraints at Geraldton port on export capacity and ability to accommodate larger Cape Class vessels
The Oakajee project represents a unique investment partnership between an independent infrastructure provider, the private sector, international partners and government.
The main reason I’m with OPR is because my parents are land-holders in the Murchison shire, which is part of the Mid-West, and for the past couple of years have had dealings with OPR and the rail that they will be building. OPR has a keen sense for community involvement, and they have supported many projects that the Murchison Shire has done in the past. Also, a very helpful person at Curtin Bentley campus helped me gain a contact into OPR, and some of Semester 2 in 2010 was spent liaising with the Government and Community Relations manager in regards to me doing my PR 393 with them.
And now, here I am!
I really wanted to do my placement during the summer holidays before uni started up again, mainly because I think that if you want to get the most out of your placement, doing one day a week isn’t going to get you very far. If you do it all in one hit, you’re continuously working on projects and tasks that are delegated to you, and not intermittently during the semester.
I have been delegated many PR-related tasks for the duration of my placement with OPR which I’m very pleased about, and it’s interesting to note how different it feels working in this kind of environment. I’ve never before worked in an office setting, and it’s a really great learning experience in more ways than one. Having a good sense of time management is key in this kind of setting, and I’ve printed off a blank calendar page that I have pinned in my line of sight at all times, to keep an eye on deadlines and when I want drafts completed etc.
It feels strange knowing that what I’m doing is going to be used in “real life”, so to speak, and that it’s not a hypothetical situation like uni usually is. Having that safety net for uni work is usually not even contemplated until it’s removed, and I’m much more aware of my work habits now more than ever!
Well, that’s my musings for the current moment, I guess I’ll keep you updated as time goes by!
1 comment:
hello Peta
You must have had a great day during your internship program.what is more insightful is that from the looks of things.you indeed put forth your knowledge of public relations in task give to you.more surprising is your great working ethics by acknowledging the most important thing on the working environment being time management and your techniques of planning for things way ahead in time so you work precisely for instance by having a blank calendar.
Also working for a joint venture company it shows how public relations can work in interlinking two companies in terms of international public relations.Not forgetting the community involvement (corporate social responsibility).
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