Marvel Liandri arrived in Australia from China to study a Master of Engineering at the University of New South Wales and was on the hunt for some work experience.

Marvel already had a Bachelor of Engineering from China but wanted to support his university studies with an internship. “I had just arrived in Australia and I really wanted to find new connections and new friends related to engineering,” he says. 

“Once I started studying I was looking for placement opportunities so I could get some experience in Australia but I found it kind of hard because I had just arrived and I also had overseas qualifications.” 

Marvel was able to make friends through university and that’s when he heard about Engineers Australia networking events for overseas-qualified engineers. 

“My friend asked me to go to an event with him because his lecturer told the class about networking events for engineers in the area. I thought it would be a good place to start to look for a job and build some local connections,” Marvel says.  

“Once we arrived, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people there but we were able to talk to numerous representatives from different engineering companies,” Marvel says.  

Marie O’Looney, Associate Director at SDA Structures was in attendance on the night. “We were pleasantly surprised by the volume of applications we received afterward, and several candidates, especially Marvel, stood out to us,” she says. 

Marvel connected with Marie on the night and put in his application a few days later.  

“Because of the event, I was able to apply directly to Marie’s email and then about a week later I was asked to come in for an interview,” Marvel says.  

After the interview, Marvel received an offer for a three days a week paid internship as a structural engineer at the company. 

“I am really grateful that I got this placement from SDA. The people and my new colleagues are all very nice,” Marvel says.  

“I have experience out in the field as a site engineer and civil engineer but this role gives me the opportunity to work more in an office-based environment familiarising myself with Australian codes and learning more about structural engineering.”  

Engineers Australia’s Barriers to employment for migrant engineers report emphasises that “providing credible, trusted information on employment pathways” is key to helping overseas-qualified engineers find skilled roles. We have been focused on improving the resources available to migrant engineers. Read our top tips for migrant engineers to get started or visit our internships hub on EAXchange (you will need to login with your Engineers Australia ID).