Life’s electric in the NT
The year was 2010 and Irishman Ciarán Cross arrived in Darwin, looked around and thought: ‘This is alright’.
An electrician by trade, Ciarán came to Darwin on the back of an invite from a teammate who was part of his Gaelic Irish hurling team competing in the WA Hurling Championships in Perth.
‘We flew one of the guys back down from Darwin to play in the final with us, and he missed a couple of flights back because of the celebrations after the win. Then he said, “Why don’t you drive your car to Darwin and sort out your visa as well?”’
Ciarán was in Australia on a one-year Working Holiday Visa. If the visa holder wants to stay an additional year, the requirement is to work in regional Australia for three months as part of the first year. Under the visa categories, Darwin is considered regional.
Ciarán was working in construction and had already spent 6 months in Perth where he moved after leaving Ireland. But after arriving in Darwin, he’s never looked back.
‘I saw the opportunities in Darwin straight away,’ he said.
‘I was able to pick up work as a trades’ assistant and met a lot of guys in the same situation. I started getting involved in a bit of bush work as an electrician. I liked the work, met good friends, so I thought, “Yeah, I’ll stick around.”’
While Ciarán was a qualified electrician in his homeland of Ireland, he completed a Capstone Exam to assess his knowledge and competency as a sparky to receive certification in Australia.
With the second year of his working holiday maker visa coming to an end, Ciarán’s employer MEC NT agreed to sponsor his permanent stay in Australia.
The opportunities Ciarán saw in Darwin early on soon translated into a chance to buy into the business.
Seven years later and Ciarán is a co-owner of MEC NT, which has 120 staff including 18 apprentices.
The company are electrical contractors undertaking a variety of electrical work from high voltage, low voltage, air conditioning, to communications, CCTV and access control. MEC NT also self-perform all of their own civil work to facilitate their electrical installations.
While the company was built on remote work, MEC NT currently has a lot of work in Darwin, particularly in the Australian and US Defence sectors. They are also involved in large projects including the Darwin Ship Lift and the Civic Centre upgrade.
Since arriving in Darwin, Ciarán’s personal life has also improved. He’s now married to Danielle who originally hails from New Zealand, and together they have two young children. The family live in the rural area with plenty of space and regularly travel to Bali for holidays.
‘My advice to anyone thinking of moving to Darwin is to just do it.’ Ciarán said.
‘All the help is there. The pathways are pretty easy these days. You’re not going to be the only person in that situation.
‘There are tons of people doing the same thing, and you’ll meet friends for life. If you don’t ever have a go, you’ll never know.’
The Northern Territory, together with industry, will be heading to the UK and Ireland seeking skilled and experienced workers across high-demand industries.
If you know anyone in Belfast, Cork, Liverpool or Leeds, who might be considering a fresh start, get them to visit info sessions - UK and Ireland.
If you’re a business looking for workers, don’t miss the opportunity to connect with new talent. List your jobs for free on the WorkerConnect website.
