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Case Study

Name: Allison Anderson
Position: Forklift Driver
Company: Kimberly Clark
Qualifications: TAFE – Forklift Licence
Age: 28

How long have you been in this role – and what did you do before?
I’ve worked here casually for about a year, but before that worked for two years driving a stretch wrapper. I also worked in administration for four years before deciding I was more interested in hands-on work; I was happy to get out from behind a desk!

What’s the advantage to casual work?
I have a family at home, so working casually two or three days a week suits me perfectly. My husband works here as well so it’s nice to get continuity, especially as we only live twenty minutes away from work.
 
Is there any training available on the job?
After being on the contract list for Kimberly Clark, the opportunity came up to drive a stretch wrapper, for which I needed my forklift licence. I did the training on the job.

What’s the best thing about your job?
I get a buzz from driving the forklift, and I have a great team to work with. It’s a lot of fun meeting new people, getting to know them and socialising.
There are more females coming to work in the industry too, it’s much more a unisex environment so it’s a lot of fun to work in.


Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years time I hope to be still here at Kimberly Clark, in casual or full time work. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in different aspects of production, and I really enjoy the physical nature of the work.

What do you do when you’re not working?
I live locally on the coast, and when I’m not working I look after our kids or our hobby farm, where we keep livestock and grow berries. That keeps us busy pruning and picking, and rearing our animals, but it’s a lot of fun as well!

I’ve always lived in the country and love the country lifestyle, so being able to work in rural Australia is a big positive for me and my family, especially our kids who have grown up in the great outdoors.

We spoke to Allison about her career and what she does day to day. We hope you find this useful and interesting – but please remember, that all jobs are not exactly the same and other roles with the same title may be different in many respects. Confirm all the details of a particular job with the organisation offering it.