The Take Off — The Global Construction Careers Podcast

Another rant this week.
And this one is for everyone telling me they desperately want to move to Australia... until they actually get an opportunity to do it.
I speak to people every week who tell me Australia is the dream.
They want the lifestyle. The weather. The career opportunities. Sydney. Brisbane. Perth. A completely different life on the other side of the world.
Then the conversation starts.
"I want this salary."
"I want sponsorship."
"I want relocation paid."
"I want a company car."
"I want my accommodation covered."
"I don't want a long commute."
And suddenly, the person who was apparently desperate to move has a shopping list of ten things that need to happen before they'll even consider it.
That's not how it works.
The reality is that most Australian construction companies aren't sitting around waiting to throw massive relocation packages at someone in the UK or Ireland who's never worked a day in the Australian market.
You might have to take a risk.
You might have to compromise.
And your first few months might actually be pretty fucking shit.
We talk about:

• Why most Australian construction companies aren't offering huge relocation packages
• The unrealistic expectations I keep seeing from UK and Irish candidates
• Why Tier 2 and Tier 3 contractors want people who can hit the ground running
• Why Quantity Surveying in Australia isn't the same as Quantity Surveying in the UK and Ireland
• Salary, sponsorship, relocation assistance and what you can realistically expect
• Why moving overseas means accepting some level of discomfort
• What your first 3, 6, 12 and 24 months abroad can actually look like
• My own experience moving to New Zealand and basically starting from scratch
• Why being flexible on location, commute, job title and salary can open doors
• The reality behind the massive salaries and mining jobs you see all over TikTok
• Why waiting until everything is "perfect" could mean missing your opportunity altogether
• And why Australia will very quickly humble you if you arrive thinking the market owes you something

Moving overseas isn't supposed to be completely comfortable.
You're rebuilding your career, friendships, routine and life in a country where nobody knows who you are.
That's part of it.
And if Australia is genuinely where you want to be, at some point you have to stop expecting someone else to remove every bit of risk from the move.
Take the chance. Accept that some things might be shit for a while. Give yourself time to build a life there.
Or don't move.
But if you're waiting for the perfect salary, perfect package, perfect location, perfect commute and perfect lifestyle before you take the leap...
Lose the ego and get real.
Enjoy.

Ep. 179: RANT... Money, Work & Feeling Fucking Lost

Bit of a different one this week.

No recruitment trends. No market update. No carefully structured topic.

Just a rant about something I think a lot of men are experiencing but probably aren't talking about enough.

I spoke to a candidate recently who asked a pretty simple question:

"Is this it?"

You build a career. Earn more money. Chase the promotion. Buy the house. Chase another target. Move onto the next project.

And then what?

That conversation got me thinking about my own life, my career, the constant chasing I've done over the last decade and how easily our jobs can become our entire identity.

We talk about:

• Why your career doesn't have to define who you are

• The never-ending chase for more money, bigger targets and greater success

• Why hitting the next goal rarely leaves you satisfied for very long

• Men, loneliness and the disappearance of places where we genuinely connect

• Moving around the world for work and constantly having to rebuild your community

• Why so many people are simply going through the motions

• The difference between making money and actually feeling fulfilled

• Having the courage to completely change direction

• What I'd do if I felt completely fucking lost

• And the question I've been thinking about a lot lately: what actually makes you feel alive?

There's no grand conclusion to this one.

I certainly don't have life figured out.

But if you're doing well on paper, earning decent money, progressing in your career and still occasionally thinking "what the fuck am I actually doing?"...

You probably aren't the only one.

Enjoy.

Why Is It So Hard to Recruit Good People?

It’s one of the most common frustrations across construction right now:

“Why is it so f*ing hard to recruit good people?”**

Whether you’re in Sydney, Dublin, London or Stockholm, the challenge is much the same. Businesses have projects, pipelines and ambitious growth plans — but finding genuinely high-quality people to deliver them has become increasingly difficult.

In this episode of The Take Off Podcast, Mick breaks down seven reasons why recruiting great people has become so difficult — and why the traditional approach to recruitment is no longer enough.

• The best people aren’t looking for jobs — they’re usually busy delivering projects, solving problems and progressing within their existing business.

• Companies are searching for unicorns — increasingly narrow requirements around sector, project type, software, qualifications and local experience dramatically reduce the available talent pool.

• We’re trying to hire tomorrow’s employee on yesterday’s salary — expectations have moved faster than many salary bands.

• A pay rise isn’t enough anymore — career stage, family, flexibility, security, progression, leadership and lifestyle can matter just as much as money.

• Recruitment processes are too slow — lengthy interviews, approvals and assessments can kill momentum and create doubt.

• Businesses underestimate the impact of rejection — repeated offer declines can affect internal confidence and external employer reputation.

• Recruitment has become too transactional — the strongest businesses identify, map and build relationships with talent long before a vacancy becomes urgent.

The fundamental difference?

Finding someone who wants a job is very different from convincing someone you genuinely want to hire to change jobs.

For difficult appointments, recruitment increasingly looks less like filling a vacancy and more like strategic procurement of talent — understanding the market, identifying the right people early and building relationships before you desperately need them.

If you're a business owner, construction leader or hiring manager struggling to attract the calibre of people you need, this episode explores what may actually be getting in the way.

And if you're a candidate? It offers an insight into what businesses are really looking for — and what can make someone genuinely stand out in a crowded market.

🎙️ The Take Off Podcast
GEDON™ Search | Precision Search for Complex Construction

What the F* Is Happening in Poland’s Construction Market?

Poland has changed — dramatically.

Twenty years ago, hundreds of thousands of Polish workers were leaving the country in search of better opportunities across the UK, Ireland, Germany and wider Europe.

Today, the picture looks very different.

Poland is now a trillion-dollar economy, its construction industry is delivering tens of billions of euros worth of work, and the country has a major pipeline across infrastructure, energy, nuclear, manufacturing, defence and data centres.

But there’s another side to the story.

Polish construction professionals have built an exceptional reputation internationally — and their experience is increasingly in demand across Europe.

In Episode 175 of The Take Off Podcast, I take a deep dive into Poland, its construction market and why Polish engineers, project managers and commercial professionals could be particularly well positioned for the next wave of European construction.

We discuss:

• 🇵🇱 How Poland has transformed over the last 20 years

• 🏗️ The scale of Poland's construction and infrastructure pipeline

• 🌍 The huge Polish professional diaspora across Europe

• 💰 How salaries and career opportunities in Poland have evolved

• ⚡ Nuclear, energy, industrial and major infrastructure investment

• 🖥️ Poland's emerging data-centre and digital-infrastructure market

• 🇩🇪 Why Polish professionals are increasingly attractive to employers in Germany and Western Europe

• 🇸🇪 Opportunities across Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the wider Nordics

• ✈️ The rise of 10/4 and 17/4 rotational construction opportunities

• 📈 Why spending several years internationally could create major career leverage for Polish professionals who eventually want to return home

The biggest change?

Leaving Poland is no longer necessarily about escaping a weaker economy or earning more money.

For many experienced professionals, it's about gaining exposure to some of Europe's biggest projects, building international experience and then deciding where they want their career to take them.

If you're an Engineer, Project Manager, Planner, Commercial Manager, Electrical or Mechanical professional, Quantity Surveyor or Project Director based in Poland, the European market is considerably bigger than the opportunities on your doorstep.

Earn the money.
Get the experience.
Build the CV

Career Clinic: Is Now the Right Time to Move Abroad?

In the first Career Clinic since the relaunch, Mick tackles the question he gets asked more than any other: is now a good time to make an international move? The short answer — there's never a "perfect" time, so the real question is whether it's the right time for you. From there, Mick breaks down what's actually happening market by market, based on live mandates GEDON is working right now.

In this episode:

• Why timing an international move is like timing the stock market — impossible, and the wrong question to ask
• The data centre and digital infrastructure boom driving demand across continental Europe — active projects in Portugal, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden and Ireland
• Why MEP and CSA (civil, structural, architectural) skills from Australia/NZ are in high demand on European data centre campuses right now
• Ireland's infrastructure boom: the Dublin Metro project, valued around €11bn with a pipeline potentially extending to €20–30bn, and the demand it's creating for rail, signalling and transport talent
• Why Australia's market feels sluggish right now — thin margins, a soft pipeline in NSW, Queensland's slower-than-expected Olympics rollout, and where the real heat is (Victoria's data centre market)
• What Irish and UK candidates get wrong when they assume Australia's market is the same as it was three or four years ago
• The Middle East talent squeeze — why an ad for a Sydney relocation role can pull 500+ applicants, and why visa sponsorship (not skill) is often the real bottleneck
• Why a "quieter" market like New Zealand can sometimes be an easier place to land your first move than a booming one
• The US opportunity: strong demand for construction talent, a tougher H-1B environment, and the E-3 visa pathway available specifically to Australian citizens
• Why exposure to data centres, semiconductor facilities and life sciences projects is the single best career bet for the next decade, and how tradespeople can use it to move into project leadership

Get involved: Send in the question you want tackled next week's Career Clinic.

Why Take Off Had to Change

After six months of silence, Take Off is back — and it's not the same show. Host Mick Donaghy explains why the podcast that started as an Australian Quantity Surveying show in 2020 has to evolve alongside GEDON Executive, which no longer recruits QSs alone but leaders across project delivery, commercial management and planning, spanning Ireland, Europe and Australia — with the goal of becoming a genuinely global construction recruitment firm.

In this episode:

• Why Take Off went quiet for six months
• The show's journey so far: 2020, covid, Australia — 177 episodes, 70,000 downloads
• Why GEDON no longer positions itself as a QS specialist
• What's replacing the weekly guest-interview format: career clinics, market conversations, and panel episodes
• The new name — and what "The Take Off — Global Construction Recruitment Podcast" actually means
• What listeners, old and new, can expect going forward

What’s it really like moving to Australia as a Quantity Surveyor?

In this episode of The Take Off Podcast, Mick breaks down the reality of relocating overseas to build a career in construction — from starting out on site and improving communication skills, to navigating different construction cultures across Europe and Australia.

The episode explores the pressures of early career decisions, the value of hands-on site experience, and why mastering construction fundamentals still matters in an industry increasingly shaped by AI. Mick also reflects on working on globally significant projects, including stadium developments at FC Barcelona, and leading cost strategies within major international organisations.

A candid conversation about ambition, risk, caree r patience, and what it really takes to build a sustainable Quantity Surveying career abroad.

🎧 Listen now to understand the real trade-offs behind moving overseas for work.

🏗️ Learn how we support construction professionals building international careers at
👉 www.gedonexecutive.com

From small family contractors in Spain…
to working on the Camp Nou redevelopment for FC Barcelona…
to leading cost strategy for Amazon across Europe and beyond.

In this episode, We're joined by Alberto Fernandez, MRICS chartered quantity surveyor and Senior Cost Engineer at Amazon, to talk about a truly global career in construction – and how AI is about to reshape the industry.

Alberto shares how early days on site with a labour–owner taught him the realities of construction, why he left Spain during the financial crisis to improve his English in Australia, and how that eventually led to roles with major contractors, FC Barcelona and now Amazon.

We dive into:

• Growing up in Spain and “falling into” construction via a technical architect degree

• Early years on site: concrete on your boots, drywall, rebar and understanding the real basics

• How the global financial crisis forced him to reset and move to Australia

• Discovering quantity surveying and the RICS route later in his career

• Landing the role at FC Barcelona and working on Camp Nou & Johan Cruyff Stadium

• What it really takes to deliver complex stadium projects under huge pressure

• Moving into Amazon and leading cost engineering across Europe and beyond

• His take on AI in construction – what’s hype, what’s real and what’s coming next

• Why companies will need their own AI tools and “internal schools” for juniors

• Advice for young QSs and cost engineers entering an AI-powered industry

If you’re interested in stadiums, global careers, cost engineering or AI in construction, this one is packed with insight.

👉 For more conversations like this, visit gedonexecutive.com

Or Connect with Alberto

What happens when an electrical engineer, estimator, and salesperson becomes a construction tech founder?
You get The Measuring Company — and one of the fastest-growing remote estimating models in Australia.

In this episode, Joey Hidalgo, Founder & CEO of The Measuring Company, breaks down his journey from the Philippines to Australia, the flaws he saw in traditional estimating, and how he built a global team delivering measurement, estimating and procurement support for builders and subcontractors.

Joey shares:

• Why most builders lose profit long before a job starts

• The true bottlenecks in estimating teams

• How offshore talent can increase accuracy — not reduce it

• Why AI won’t replace estimators, but estimators who use AI will win

• How TMC trains engineers to work at Australian standards

• The future of estimating, outsourcing, and construction tech

A must-listen for estimators, QSs, builders and anyone shaping the future of construction operations.

👉 Explore more construction leadership insights at gedonexecutive.com

What does it really take to become a quantum expert in construction?

In this episode of The Take Off Podcast, Joe Stewart, Director at JS Held, shares how he went from a 16-year-old university student in Scotland to a trusted figure in dispute resolution and expert witness work.

Joe breaks down:
⚖️ The real difference between QS and expert roles
📋 How adjudication and arbitration actually work in practice
🧠 Why mastering fundamentals still matters in expert work
🤖 The power — and danger — of AI in claims and analysis
📉 Why tier-one contractors are pulling back from high-risk markets

Whether you’re an aspiring expert, a senior QS, or just curious how construction disputes are won and lost — this is a must-listen.

🎧 Listen now on The Take Off Podcast

🏗️ Build your next move with gedonexecutive.com