August 27 2007

Laing O’Rourke site engineer Elliot Hicks was named MBA New South Wales Building Degree Graduate of the Year on August 23.

Elliot, who is the site engineer for Laing O’Rourke’s new Sydney office, said winning the award was a pleasant surprise.

"I was speechless," he said of the announcement, which was made at a Master Builders Association (MBA) top 50 builders lunch.

"It was really good to share it with my managers and the other cadets," he said.

Elliot started with the company's cadetship program in 2003, working full-time while studying part-time for his Bachelor of Building Construction Management degree at the University of Technology Sydney.

"The cadetship gave me the opportunity to work and study at the same time, and in this type of work, hands-on experience is very important," he said.

Building and Development NSW General Manager Scott Egelton said Elliot had shown great application to win the award.

"To achieve this studying and working concurrently is a fantastic result," he said. "Elliot has a great future with Laing O'Rourke."

The MBA Building Degree Graduate of the Year Award recognises quality of work skill, commitment to work and employer, and the overall attitude of the graduate.