Synergy’s award-winning early career programs fast charging energy professionals
A major national award for Synergy’s early career programs is highlighting how WA’s largest energy provider is fast charging the careers of emerging energy professionals.
Synergy won the Award for Outstanding Internship Program (Intern Intake Under 50) at the recent 2024 Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) Awards, a ranking determined by feedback gathered from graduates and interns.
This is the latest in a list of national awards recognising Synergy’s early career programs, with the organisation listed as the 18th top graduate employer Australia-wide in 2023*, and its graduate program ranked 32 nationally by AAGE in 2022 and that year’s top performer in the electricity industry.
Synergy has also been recognised by the Diversity Council Australia as an Inclusive Employer for the third year in a row in 2024.
Synergy Executive General Manager People, Safety and Environment Nadine Dennison said the ongoing external recognition reflected Synergy’s focus on supporting its employees, in particular the next generation of energy professionals.
“Our successful intern and graduate programs foster and develop new talent and create employment opportunities in the energy sector,” she said.
“Through our small, personalised program our graduates gain the technical skills and knowledge required to progress in their chosen career pathways and are helping lead Western Australia’s energy transition.”
Synergy Graduate Electrical Engineer Cat Weinman is currently in the first year of the two-year program and is taking the opportunity to experience working directly within power stations.
“Synergy’s program really appealed to me as it offers great opportunities for technical development and site experiences, which I have enjoyed,” Cat said.
“I’ve had the opportunity to understand the operations of the sites, and supported key projects such as installing new switchboards, circuit breakers, and safety protections.
“I have loved my experiences so far as it has highlighted the complexity of the industry and has provided strong foundations for future experiences whether they be in thermal generation or sustainable energy projects.”
Over the past three years, Synergy’s graduate profile has reflected the ongoing investment in early career specialists who will help support WA’s energy transition, including electrical and mechanical engineers, energy trading analysts and cyber security experts.
“Our Graduate Employment Program is designed to attract and nurture emerging specialists who will lead us to a more sustainable and efficient energy future,” Ms Dennison said.
“As Western Australia’s largest energy provider we have an important role to play in supporting WA’s energy transition, not only in creating the infrastructure but in developing and supporting the workforce needed for this transition.
“This year our graduate recruitment profile focused on civil, mechanical and electrical graduate engineers, and going forward we expect that control and instrumentation graduate engineers will be essential to support many of our projects as they reach critical milestones.”
Cat said the experiences and support afforded at Synergy, which will include rotations through future energy projects such as battery storage and wind farms, were a highlight.
“I have been lucky to be offered a lot of learning opportunities at Synergy,” Cat said.
“Something I have been really blown away with is how willing most people are to spend the time to teach me things and explain things to me. Synergy really does invest in their people.
“There is a lot of teamwork required, as this is such a collaborative field to be working in and a lot of people all working together toward the same goal.”
* Ranking from Topgraduateemployers.com.