Andrew Predika
Director

Andrew has worked extensively in the civil, mining, tunnelling industry for over 21 years. His experience in dealing with operational and managerial projects in remote and rural areas of Australia has proven to be a valuable asset to Direct Skills.

Andrew has worked on numerous mining, tunnelling & civil projects. With experience in tunnelling, open cut & underground mining and as a qualified hydraulic fitter, Andrew specialises in customer liaison and providing unparalleled project and customer support. Andrew’s ‘first hand’ knowledge of earthmoving equipment has given him the edge in providing the right staffing solutions where earthmoving plant and equipment are required.

Andrew is one of Direct Skills’ founding Directors and continues to provide the ultimate standard of service to the civil & construction labour hire industry.

Glenn Mackay
Director

Glenn has been involved in labour hire and recruitment for the Civil, Construction and Mining industries for the past 13 years. As a founding Director of Direct Skills, Glenn has been involved in his own business for the past 9 years contracting to major clients Australia wide and building a strong reputation with our clients through service and quality. Glenn provides Direct Skills with key support vital to the operational and managerial needs of the company. They include such areas as financial management, strategic planning, commercial management and business development.

Contracting to the civil and construction industries has given Glenn first-hand experience in labour hire and recruitment, giving Direct Skills the expertise to continue as a respected leader in labour hire, recruitment and permanent staffing solutions.

Ruwan Perera
Business Development Manager

Ruwan Perera has over 10 years experience in the commercial construction world. He has brought his experience from a major national equipment supply company, and applied it in a seamless manner to our smaller niche team here at Direct Skills. Over this period Ruwan, has successfully grown and managed new accounts by providing value-added service and consistently meeting the unique and demanding needs of his clients. His strength is in implementing new, innovative ways to offer sustainable work force solutions to our building and sub contractor sector clients.

Working from the ground up, Ruwan has held positions from Hire controller, Branch Manager, Account Manager, BDM through to Sales Manager. With his hands on understanding of each role he has been able to help mould our vibrant and dynamic sales team into an effective driver of our business. His core value of strong business relationships resonates through the sales team and has ensured his and the teams success. He is proactive, professional and enthusiastic about the construction industry.

Alexander Luke Strofield
Business Development Manager

Alexander has been involved in the labour hire business for over 10 years. His vast experience as an Account Manager on the Construction Labour Hire industry has made him a valuable team member. Alexander’s business development skills, abilities to form lasting client relationships, knowledge on OHS implementation requirements, staff management abilities make him successful in providing white-collar recruitment and blue-collar recruitment for clients. Over the four years in Brisbane, Alexander held the positions of Account Manager, Branch Manager and Business Development Manager.

Alexander joined Direct Skills Team in 2008, bringing with him the commitment to provide cost efficient and quality service our clients. Alexander continual involvement in the labour hire industry and extensive client list keeps Direct Skills flexible and able to respond to domestic construction labour hire needs.

Danielle Maney
Office Manager/Accounts

Danielle Maney joined Direct Skills in 2004, taking on the role of Receptionist and becoming a key part of our team.  Since this time Danielle has gained exceptional knowledge and experience in both Direct Skills’ service delivery and the Civil / Construction Labour Hire industry.  After earning a promotion to Administrative Assistant to the Commercial Manager, Danielle has more recently demonstrated her knowledge and experience in assuming the role of Office Manager / Accounts.

Danielle is highly customer focused and always ready to provide great service.

Chris O ‘ Loughlin
Account Manager

Chris joined Direct Skills Team in 2006 as the Direct Skills Account Manager in Victoria. His abilities to form lasting client relationships contributed to Direct Skills uncompromising standard of excellence, making Direct Skills Pty the leading suppliers of labour hire in the civil construction industry. Chris managed the client contracts and the placement of permanent and temporary staff in Victoria and now, in Queensland. In his role as the Account manager for Brisbane, he is continually liaisoning with superintendants, foreman, accounts & HR staff to manger candidates in an efficient, productive and professional manner.

Chris has extensive experience in managing large projects, for example Chris managed successfully the labour hire requirements for TJH Eastlink Project, the nation’s biggest road project. Eastlink connects the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne’s east to the Frankston Freeway. Chris’s knowledge of Brisbane employment market, extensive contacts, first hand knowledge of OHS implementation requirements, staff management abilities and the ability to manager large projects makes him successful in providing white collar recruitment and blue collar recruitment solutions for clients.

Nigel Peterson
Return To Work Office

Nigel has a varied and extensive background in workers compensation spanning 14 years. During this time Nigel has worked in senior positions with Insurers/Agents, Consultants and Self Insurers and has developed an extremely strong understanding of the specific strategies required to achieve and deliver effective claims and injury management.

Nigel has developed a unique management style allowing him to relate and understand the needs and requirements of all stakeholders and with his training and development background can effectively communicate and/or negotiate the required result.

Nigel’s experience includes:

• Claims Team Manager – Royal & Sun Alliance Workers Compensation
• State Training Manager – Royal & Sun Alliance Workers Compensation
• Claims Consultant to Vero Workers Compensation conducting employer auditing, training, process development and implementation
• National Coordinator First Aid & WorkCover Claims – Phillip Morris (Aust.) Ltd.
• Representative of internal Health & Safety committees and OH&S committees
• Representative of the Self-Insurers Association of Victoria (SlAV)
• Development of internal OH&S and Claims Management procedures
• Role of Return to Work Co-ordinator (WorkSafe Certified)
• Experience in SafetyMap audits

Justin Castle
Territory Manager

Justin has been with Direct Skills for 3 years. Justin started with Direct Skills in our Operations Department “Learning the Trade”. In the time Justin has been with us he has developed an intimate knowledge of our candidates and our business. Since his move to Territory Management Justin has continued to deliver excellence to his ever growing client base by always acting with integrity, honesty and his ability to get the job done. Justin is also currently studying Cert 3 in OH&S.

Stuart Mangin
Business Development Manager

One of the newest inclusions to the Direct Skills team, Stuart brings with him a wealth of knowledge and a set of core values that are second to none. Having come from an elite sporting background he is able to draw on the advantages of being taught and mentored by some of the country’s most influential sporting identities. This has given Stuart the ideal preparation in life and assists with his hunger for success within the business world of today. Currently, with twelve years sales experience in the construction industry, he also holds a number of qualifications, with a Diploma of Management completed with high distinction among his most recent achievements. Stuart’s black and white approach together with his passion for exceeding client expectations are what set him apart from the rest. With his strong leadership and personal values in hand, you will always have peace of mind knowing Stuart is involved in your project and working with you.

Melissa Larsen
Reception

Melissa has been working within the Direct Skills team for almost 2 years now, having previously had an extensive career in the Real Estate Industry for a period of 3 years within the Diamond Valley area.

Melissa is heavily involved within the daily operations of the company, providing assistance were required particularly to the Admin and Payroll departments. She provides an exceptional service from the front desk to all that deal with the company on a daily basis, and has moulded a great rapport with our candidates.

Katrina Lee
Payroll Team Leader

Katrina Lee joined the Direct Skills team in early 2006, filling the key position of Payroll Assistant. Building upon her strong payroll background, Katrina has become a key part of Direct Skills’ service delivery due to the working knowledge and experience she has gained in Civil and Construction industry Industrial Instruments. Now fulfilling the role of Payroll Team Leader, Katrina works with our valued Candidates on a daily basis to ensure the highest standard of payroll delivery.

Katrina’s experience and diligence ensures that she is always ready to assist our Candidates and Clients.

Jodie Green
Operations Manager

Jodie joined the Direct Skills team in 2008 as Labour-Hire Coordinator. Jodie has extensive knowledge in Operations/Recruitment. Originally a country girl from Shepparton, Jodie spent 15 years working for SPC as their Labour Co-ordinator. Jodie has recently moved in to the role of Operations Manager where she continues to deliver a great service to all of our clients and candidates while supporting the sales Team.

Sonia Violani
Payroll Clerk

Hannah Greenwood
Admin Assistant