Cassino Doyle

Cassino Doyle

Cassino Doyle wasn't that engaged at school but that was okay… he was really good at sport, and a career in footy was where he saw himself. Sure enough, soon after leaving school Cassino went to play rugby league professionally in the UK.

Then at 23 he had such a severe head injury that he lost all hearing in one ear… his sporting career was gone and he had to re-assess things.

“I tried construction management at polytech and really enjoyed that, but wanted to learn more about creating subdivisions, so I came to Otago to study Land Planning and Development. It included all the things I needed for construction management, contract and project management, subdivision design and planning. There was also quite a large Māori land component, which was very appealing…”

After completing his Land Planning and Development degree in 2004, Cassino went back to Auckland and worked in construction management again.
“I realised that what I really wanted was a Surveying qualification. So I came back and did a Diploma for Graduates, adding in the extra papers that would make the equivalent of a Bachelor of Surveying. The DipGrad was really flexible, allowed me to study part time while working as a graduate resource planner.”

Now Cassino works for MHW, a global Engineering Consultancy. The land planning, contract and project management skills he acquired in Land Planning and Development are really valuable, allowing him to have input in a broad range of projects from concept through to completion.

One of Cassino's projects is the SH88 Shared Path that heads down West Harbour. His experience in construction management, added to his planning and surveying skills meant that Cassino was able to survey the site, develop the concept, and then project manage the construction phase through to completion. That work led into a project management role for the first phase of the South Dunedin Cycleway, again responsible for executing designs and construction. Cassino then received a call from MWH Fiji, who needed someone to manage multiple Contracts under the Fiji Roading Authorities Roading Reform, at the time a $550M+ (now $640M) annual programme of work.

Cassino and his family are now living in Fiji, where he is scoping, tendering and managing construction on multiple fast, and often politically sensitive projects… it's a job that can take you places!
“A tertiary education from Otago gives you opportunities to take control of your journey. Put your hand up, believe in yourself and jump into an adventure; put the work in and you'll succeed. No denying it was tough at times, so I made use of the support networks at the Māori Centre & the Surveying dept, and eventually came out the other side with a degree and plenty of options!”