Shape Your World
At Alcoa, you will become an essential part of our purpose: to turn raw potential into real progress. The way we see it, every Alcoan is a work-shaper, team-shaper, idea-shaper, world-shaper.
This is your opportunity to shape your career through the skills and experience you bring to the role now and by training for the roles you may want in the future. Our success depends on great teams, where you can thrive and do your best work in a supportive environment.
About the Role
Shape your career by joining Alcoa’s Vacation Student program! Based in Victoria at our Portland Aluminium Smelter, you’ll have the chance to put your university knowledge into practice, propelling you toward a career path that exceeds your wildest expectations. Throughout your 12-week paid summer placement, you’ll experience professional growth, technical expansion, and become an integral part of our vibrant community, where inspiration and daily challenges await.
During the program, you will be matched with a senior specialist who will offer hands-on training, mentoring, and coaching. The program is designed to support you in becoming a creative problem solver, assisting you in completing meaning projects that will be assigned to you.
What’s on offer?
Exposure to industry and a future career at Alcoa.
An attractive hourly rate of pay for the hours you work.
Meaningful project work that provides you with valuable hands-on work experience
Working locally, in an onsite environment enabling you to return home to friends and family every night.
Inclusion and diversity networks; shaping a culture where everyone is welcome, respected and heard.
Be part of our commitment to sustainability, delivering world class technology and innovations that lead the aluminium industry!
A workplace culture that strongly values your safety.
Increased opportunity to gain a place in the Alcoa Graduate Program after you have completed your degree
Access to the Alcoa Live Well program with a selection of health & wellbeing discount offers to help you live your best life!
What you’ll be doing
As a Chemical Engineering Vacation Student at Alcoa, you will learn, grow and develop hands-on experience and expertise in:
Based on site at our Portland Aluminium Smelter.
Assigned a project (either lab or refinery based) that both delivers real value to the business and provides you with hands-on industry experience.
Exposed to a combination of data and statistical analysis of process information, refinery sampling and laboratory analysis.
Involved in process troubleshooting, computer-based data manipulation and trending heat and mass balances.
You will be given an appropriate level of responsibility to handle assigned project(s), utilizing your innovative thinking, eagerness to learn, and passion for growth to make meaningful contributions to the business. In our open-minded workplace, your ideas will be highly valued within a supportive environment that encourages creative thinking.
If you are currently studying tertiary qualifications in Process Control or Chemical Engineering or a related discipline, we want to hear from you!
About you
We are interested in hearing from curious university students who are:
Ideally, in their penultimate year of study, however we do accept applications across all year groups.
Self-motivated and passionate for their chosen discipline, eager to learn and expand their knowledge.
Capable of working independently with the ability to communicate and engage with multiple stakeholders to obtain a project outcome.
Strong team players with effective time management, organisational and problem-solving skills.
Available to commence end of November for a full-time 12-week period ending February.
Able to travel to and from your work location each day.
Become a valued part of the team that’s reinventing the aluminium industry for a sustainable future, revolutionising the way the world lives, builds, moves and flies.
Recruitment Process
Submit online application* (resume, cover letter, transcript).
Complete 10-min video interview.
Finish psychometric testing (1 hr).
Reference check.
Pre-employment medical.
*Please note that applications close midday Australian Western Standard Time of the posting end date.
About the Location
Our Portland Smelter is a joint venture between Alcoa of Australia (55%), CITIC (22.5%) and Marubeni Aluminium Australia (22.5%). Alcoa manages the day-to-day operations at the smelter and we produce approximately 19 per cent of Australia’s total aluminium production in Portland. We are proud of the long-standing relationships we have within our local community and are committed to supporting social and diverse causes.
We are values led, vision driven and united by our purpose of transforming raw potential into real progress. Our commitments to Inclusion, Diversity & Equity include providing trusting workplaces that are safe, respectful and inclusive of all individuals, free from discrimination, bullying and harassment and that our workplaces reflect the diversity of the communities in which we operate.
This is a place where you are empowered to do your best work, be your authentic self, and feel a true sense of belonging. Come join us and shape your career!
Your work. Your world. Shape them for the better.