Paul Di Iulio has a wealth of experience in public works, starting his career 22 years ago at Campbelltown City Council, where he is now CEO. This year, he hands over the reigns as IPWEA President, but says he’ll always be an advocate for the public works sector.
By Gemma Black
How did you come to be working in public works?
I always wanted to build things – I don’t know why, but from a young age I always had a dream that one day I would build a bridge. Maths and science were also my strengths at school, and that led me to engineering.
I studied civil engineering at Adelaide University and then I did a postgraduate diploma in municipal engineering at the University of South Australia.
Did you ever build that bridge?
I have at work been involved in building road bridges and pedestrian bridges, but probably nothing as big as what I had dreamt about when I was growing up!
Where was your first job in public works?
When I left uni there were no jobs available, so I went and worked in the pool construction industry and was installing swimming pools for about six months before I got a job at Campbelltown City Council.
I’ve been at Campbelltown for 22 years now. I started as Assistant Engineer, then became Deputy City Engineer, then Manager of Engineering, then General Manager of City Works, and from there CEO.
How did you become involved with the IPWEA?
In about the mid 1990s a Board member of the South Australian Division called and encouraged me to join. I was sort of at a crossroads at the time, to be honest, about whether I should either become more involved or not be involved at all.
I took up the opportunity to get join and really enjoyed it – I progressed through the State Division to eventually become State President, and through that role also became a National Board member. Right from joining the IPWEA I loved what the association does, I’ve now been actively involved for about 18 years.
Has there been a highlight of your time as IPWEA President?
There have been a number of highlights. Changing our name to ‘Australasia’ has been one, having New Zealand join as a new Division has been another; the formation of Young IPWEA; getting standard or consistent branding around the country has been great; and we recently managed to secure agreement on a standard membership model. I think also trying something new by having the 2013 Conference in Darwin where there’s no Division – and that being as successful as it was – was great too.
So, I don’t think I could pick one of those, they’ve all been significant achievements during that period.
What advice could you offer to younger or less experienced public works professionals?
Always take the opportunities that arise, and also back your own ability. Don’t be afraid to question or provide input into discussions; just because you may be younger or less experienced doesn’t mean you can’t contribute or don’t have a lot to add.
It’s important that younger engineers don’t feel they have to just sit in a room and listen to everyone else all the time, they’re there to actively participate, whether it’s at work or with an association like IPWEA, and they can add value to discussions.
I also think it’s important, and not just for younger engineers but everyone, including me, to have mentors and people to bounce ideas off to develop your own skills and get advice.
I would of course encourage everyone to join the IPWEA – the networking is awesome, and I think with the online platforms that have been set up with Ask Your Mates and the Communities of Practice, it’s even easier now to talk to your peers and receive input and feedback from them. I really do think it’s about learning from other people as much as possible. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel.
What do you hope for the future?
I’m very happy where I am, I love working at Campbelltown City Council, and I’d like to keep working with the community here.
For IPWEA, I want to encourage more people to join, and to join the public works industry in general. It’s a great industry, it has a lot of variety and a lot of opportunities, and I really want to see people choosing to work in public works as a career move, making a conscious choice that they want to work in public works because of what it offers, rather than ending up there by default. I want to remain an advocate for the industry as much as possible.
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