The October event, which was kindly sponsored by Origin Energy, APA Group and PIPEd, saw a unique networking opportunity bringing together over 80 members of the Young Pipeliners Forum (YPF), Young Energy Professionals (YEP) and participants in the inaugural QLD Ready for Work (RFW) mentoring program.
In a YPF first, the Queensland branch managed to secure a federal politician to address the combined groups. Wyatt Roy MP, the youngest federal politician in Australian history, was on hand to provide some valuable insight, and delivered an inspirational address on the importance of young professionals in the energy and resource sector.
Mr Roy’s address was informative and well received by all in attendance, following which he was happy to answer all questions, regardless of how politically taboo the subject may have been. The YPF are very grateful for Mr Roy’s time and commitment towards our association.
Ever the good sport, Mr Roy stayed around after his speech to meet the members of the YPF, and was more than happy to support some fundraising incentives for Movember. This year the Movember fundraising baton was passed to Kate Noordemeer from Origin Energy. As a Mo Sis, Kate auctioned off her pristine face for charity and, after securing in excess of $500, allowed Mr Roy to draw a handlebar moustache on her face in permanent marker.
The event also saw the wrap-up of the inaugural QLD RFW mentoring program for 2013. With 40 matched pairs of tertiary students and young professionals in its first year, the program has been an astounding success; there were a large number of students in attendance on the evening, and there have been many reports of the mentees finding work placements and defined career direction. Program
co-ordinators Benn Wheeler and Conor O’Brien would like to thank all the mentoring pairs, the mentoring champions and sponsors for making not only the night a success, but also the past four months. In addition, a huge thank you must go to DianaMcClusky and her team at the Queensland University of Technology for helping facilitate the RFW program in 2013.
