05 May 2026
One of Leed’s emerging graduate engineers, Mason Young, has built a solid foundation for his future in construction, thanks to Leed’s undergraduate program. Mason recently completed his fifth work placement with Leed, adding to the toolkit of skills for his future career as he wraps up civil engineering studies at the University of Wollongong.
Mason joined Leed on an undergraduate summer internship about 2 ½ years ago and hasn’t looked back. He has been part of the Leed team in Cooma and on Snowy 2.0 sites near Adaminaby—working on projects for Snowy Hydro and Future Generation Joint Venture.
Mason has been offered a graduate place once he completes his studies mid-year. He says his experiences have given him a perfect preparation to step up into his next role. Read what Mason had to say below.
What initially attracted you to Leed’s undergraduate program?
‘Coming from a country background, I was keen to get real hands-on experience on site rather than office work. Leed’s program stood out because it offered exposure to major projects and the chance to learn directly from experienced engineers, not just watch from the sidelines.
It’s been great to see how teams from different backgrounds and disciplines all come together on the one job.’
How has your placement at Leed helped you grow as an engineer?
‘Spending over two years on the Snowy 2.0 project has taken me from not really knowing what an engineer does on a day-to-day basis, to being confident in my role, coordinating with the team and dealing with real site issues.
‘Being part of such a large and complex project early in my career has given me experiences and knowledge that you can’t get from uni alone.
‘The long-term exposure has built my technical skills, understanding of the construction processes and professional confidence, to a stage where I feel well prepared to step into a graduate role when I complete university.’
We understand you relocated for your undergraduate placements – tell us about that experience?
For his undergraduate placements, Mason says he’s moved into accommodation with other undergraduates in both Adaminaby and Cooma—four hours or more from Wollongong.
He says that for Snowy 2.0 all undergraduates stay in Adaminaby in housing arranged by Leed and, each day they are taken to one of four work sites by a Leed engineer.
Mason says that living with other engineering colleagues and having that peer-to-peer interaction and support has been helpful for his career development. ‘It’s good to talk about our day-to-day and reflect about what’s been going on. It’s good to have a group who are going through the same thing.’
What do you enjoy most about working on site?
‘The variety of the jobs.
‘You get to see a project progress from start to finish and work consistently in changing conditions. It might be snowing one day, then an extreme heat wave the next, which makes the job always changing and never the same.’
How would you describe the team culture and the people you’ve had a chance to work with?
‘The culture is supportive and down to earth. Both inside and outside of work, the engineers and crew are great to work with and good to be around, they take their BBQs very seriously, which says a lot about the team atmosphere.’
‘I’ve also been involved in quite a few social outings, and played basketball and soccer competitions with both the Leed and Snowy engineers in Cooma. One year we even started a running club.’
What advice would you give to someone considering applying for this program in the future?
‘Be keen to learn, show initiative and don’t be afraid to try something you haven’t done before. The more effort you put in and the more responsibility you’re willing to take on, the more you’ll get out of it.’