Working in the West
Exploring the attractions of Western Australia.
It has been a few months since we opened our office in Perth and Paul Couto made the move west.
We asked Paul what his favourite thing about Perth is and what he is most looking forward to in setting up the CM&G Perth office.
1. What is your favourite thing about living in WA
QLD and WA are equally awesome states in their own ways, so it’s tough to choose between the two. Our favourite thing about WA is the accessibility to beautiful beaches all along the coast. We are an outdoor family and the access to beaches for recreational purposes is great.
There are more fellow countryman in Perth, which means that boerewors, biltong and droëwors is readily available in most corner shops, compared to where we lived in QLD.
A WA sunset - something you don’t see on the east coast.
2. What is the biggest difference between Perth and Brisbane?
The weather, which is immediately noticeable. As a South African growing up in the Highveld, Perth is more suitable to what we know and have experienced in terms of the dry heat, unlike the QLD humidity.
The supermarkets and retail stores only open for business at 11:00am on Sundays. This is a bit of a shock to the system coming from QLD.
“FIFO” or “What roster are you on?” comes up at least once in a conversation with someone new
Every second person is South African, and every third person is Irish, specifically north of the river.
As an AFL fan, we are loving that WA is crazy about AFL compared to QLD who are an NRL state
Paul enjoying his downtime from setting up CM&G’s Perth office.
3. What are you looking forward to the most about starting up/working in the CM&G Perth office?
The “CHALLENGE” personally, culturally and technically. I am fortunate enough to have great support from CM&G across all realms, to support me in making CM&G Perth Office a success.
The support allows me to make decisions, that have the clients and CM&G best interests at heart. Opportunities of this magnitude are few and far between. It is an honour to be considered worthy enough to start up a new office.
Personally, the growth of my business and management skills will be invaluable however as a young technically focussed professional this could become challenging at times, whilst maintaining our core values at CM&G of “family”. We strive to not neglect our commitments to those that matter most to us.
Culturally, another large challenge lies ahead. I am in a foreign country, with multiple nationalities whereby I will need to establish and build integral relationships, for growth.
Finally, ensuring that the technical skills I have are applied and refined in a manner to ensure that we as CM&G remain at the forefront of geotechnical excellence and innovation.
Thank you Paul for your commitment to the Cartledge and Geotechnics team. We look forward to seeing you excel over in the west.
Connect with Paul and keep up to date with his success in Perth.
