18 December 2025

CELEBRATING OUR TEAM – NICHOLAS HAIG

🎉Congratulations Nicholas (Nick) Haig, Technical Development Specialist - Celebrating 15 Years With Otraco

Recognising Nick’s achievements, Tony Cutler, Technical Manager – Operations, said Nick’s successful career with Otraco is testament to his excellent technical skills and unswerving focus on skilling teams to develop the next generation of tyre fitters.

"A great asset to our team, Nick's commitment to our training operations over the years has helped Otraco to achieve RTO accreditation and train hundreds of new tyre management professionals. Coupled with his onsite experience, I’m excited to see Nick utilise his knowledge in his new role as Technical Development Specialist".

Nick’s Career with Otraco

Nick started with Otraco in 2010 at Paraburdoo as a Trainee Tyre Technician. After completing his qualifications, Nick was promoted to Leading Hand, and was on occasional relief swings at Brockman 2 and 4. Mid-2012 Nick was given the opportunity to take up the role of Site Supervisor at Brockman 4. Nick says this was one of the most difficult jobs he'd experienced, and he now takes his hat off to all Otraco Supervisors at the 40+ sites across Australia.

Keen to expand his career Nick was offered the role of Trainer/Assessor at the Otraco Training Centre (OTC) in Perth in 2015. Nick says he was thankful for the opportunity which enabled him to share his onsite experiences, train the tyre fitters of the future, and meet people from all walks of life and nationalities.

International Experience

Working as Trainer/Assessor for 10 years, Nick has travelled to many sites across Australia and internationally, including Mongolia at the RioTinto Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the South Gobi Desert. Here he ran a training course which involved unbolt/bolt training on HV and EM equipment with 23 non- English speaking students. The training was conducted1.3km underground and required a translator and support from site leaders. It also involved an underground emergency due to a main power cable splitting. Trapped underground with 1,000 workers in Mongolia, Nick says he had plenty of time to think about life and when he got back to Australia the first thing he did was ask his partner to marry him. Several years later Nick has a growing family - who sometimes visit him at work.

"Traveling to different mines has enhanced my skills and knowledge of working with different types of equipment for surface and underground mining operations. At the OTC I've also been able to work with tooling manufacturers to trial new equipment and provide useful feedback before releasing the tools to site."

Over the past 10 years Nick says there have been several upgrades to the Certificate II Qualifications Course plus additional national units of competency added to the scope. Nick has also completed a High-Risk Assessor program which qualifies him to issue Forklift Licences and he’s been closely involved in the development of 3D and virtual reality solutions to improve the learning environment.

2025

Celebrating his 15^th year with Otraco, Nick has recently started in his new role as Technical Development Specialist, supporting all operations and clients across Australia and Chile. Nick says he values Otraco's continued support for his professional development which includes: Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, a Double Diploma in Business, Auditing and Compliance, as well as regular first aid and fire warden training.