A CAREER change into the construction industry has put Tristen Biesse on top of the world – or Victoria, to be precise. 

The 24-year-old has worked the past 15 months as a safety cadet on Major Road Projects Victoria’s (MRPV) Bogong High Plains Road landslip project after five years as a mechanic in Gippsland.  

From toiling under the hood to working high up a mountain, Tristen said he was thrilled with his new job and looking forward to a rewarding career in construction. 

“I changed jobs after joining the safety team at Whelans Group Investments, the construction partner delivering the landslip remediation works on behalf of MRPV,” he said.  

“The best part of my job is helping keep everyone safe on the project site; and the spectacular alpine scenery is a bonus.” 

The remote location of the project means he works 10 day shifts before returning to hometown Bairnsdale and son Mason for the rest of the fortnight. 

“I’ve loved building a rapport and working with the other crew members on the landslip project. It’s been amazing work – we’ve literally moved a mountain,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to what my future in construction safety holds and encourage anyone considering a career change to explore the industry’s many opportunities.

“If you want to help with workplace safety and culture, I say go for it.” 

Major Road Projects program director Dipal Sorathia said safety cadets like Tristen play a vital role on projects like the Bogong High Plains Road landslip.

“Our safety teams are critical to helping us achieve our goal of ensuring that all our team members and everyone who encounters our project sites return home safely.”   

Crews recently completed major remediation and prevention works to fully open Bogong High Plains Road following the massive landslip. 

Devastating rain in October 2022 preceded the slow-moving landslip, which buried the road above Bogong Village with debris on a mammoth scale after scouring an area of mountainside 70m high and 100m wide.  

Among the biggest to impact Victoria’s roads network in 40 years, the landslip led to 18 months of road and lane closures on one of the state’s busiest tourism routes.  

More information about the landslip works is available at bigbuild.vic.gov.au/bogong.