Rikki - Operator and trainer, Viva Energy

Rikki - Operator and trainer, Movements team, Viva Energy Geelong

Rikki honed her expertise in safe work practices on hazardous sites working as a production technician in the export of iron ore in Port Hedland, Western Australia.

Back home in Victoria, she’s now an operator and trainer in the Movements team at the Geelong refinery.

“For most of my eight years at Viva Energy I have worked as an on-shift operator. Earlier this year I moved into the training department as one of the operator trainers, which allows me to work with our new and existing operators to train them in new roles to progress their careers.

Growing up in Lara, my Mum, Grandad, Opa and uncle all worked at the refinery for some or all of their careers.

I really enjoy the work that I do and I think historically it hasn’t been offered all that much to women but we’re seeing change across Australia and I think it’s fantastic.

“When you do have a diverse work environment everyone can benefit from that.”

In the future I’d like to see a lot more women in our leadership roles at the refinery and … maybe me.”

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Updated 9 October 2024