Gulce is a Mining Engineer at MACA. She grew up in Turkey, and after studying mining engineering at Middle East Technical University was keen to kick-start her career, but also wanted to experience working overseas.
She applied for the MACA graduate program, and was excited by the opportunity to improve her skill set while experiencing life in Australia.
“I wanted to join MACA’s graduate program because it enables you to experience a wide range of mining capabilities.”
Throughout the program she worked across drill & blast (D&B) from within the blast crew to shot firer, drilling, designs, production crew, maintenance, geology, and short-term mine planning.
“I worked with all the departments on-site, including the client’s mining department. A mine site is very dynamic and challenging working environment and it’s not the same every day, so being familiar with the whole operation is crucial”.
Now, Gulce is a short-term planner and part of the Technical Services team at MACA. While this has her working in an office environment more, her hands-on experience has been invaluable in helping her understand the variables of a safe and efficient site.
For Gulce, her career highlight so far has been working in Australia for over three years. While it was a tough decision for her to start a new life and adapt to a new country and culture, she feels it was the right choice.
“Experiencing mining in Australia was worth it for my future career. I am grateful to MACA for giving me this opportunity and support that I receive from my area, Project Managers and Supervisors.”
Women are still underrepresented in both Engineering and Mining, and while Gulce acknowledges it will take time to correct this, she believes there is already a lot of positive change occurring.
“There are many successful women in this industry, and the number of them is increasing. However, we need to keep contributing with our support to each other, encouraging each other to pursue career development opportunities”
Outside of work, Gulce likes to stay active and keep up to date with her favourite sporting teams.
At MACA, we have many opportunities available to make your mark – begin your journey here.
