Simon James – Road Works Adviser in Solomon Islands

Simon was living in Tauranga and working as an Engineer on a range of small to medium size projects prior to taking up a VSA assignment. The projects ranged from sea wall construction to design of safety improvements on the road network.

What Simon is doing in the Solomon Islands

Simon is a Road Works Advisor at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Development helping to implement labour-based road maintenance throughout the Solomon Islands. He works with a team of 10 people to support and provide on the job training and advice on a variety of tasks.

These tasks include running training courses for local communities and contractors interested in bidding on the maintenance contracts that the Ministry is putting out. Other work includes scoping jobs and preparing documents for road maintenance contracts, supervising/inspecting physical construction and processing payments for these works. 

Making a positive impact

Simon is pleased to have been able to smooth out the management of monthly inspections, measure ups and payments for the road contracts. In a country of numerous islands working with multiple ministries/organisations this seemingly simple task has always been trickier to achieve in practice.

Simon’s highlights so far

“A huge highlight for me has been working with my local counterparts and seeing them grow in confidence as they develop their knowledge and skills.”

What the Solomon Islands has taught Simon

 “Enjoy the small things in life. Time is fluid. Some things take a long time while others happen quickly. Most will be the opposite of what you were expecting.”

“Coconuts and bush knives are awesome. They can both be used for a myriad of different things.”

“Plan things for sure but be flexible in your planning. Always have a backup plan up your sleeve.”