John (Vivian) Macleod 1965

Vivian MacLeod as slipmaster at HMAS Stirling (on left).

From trains, to boats to planes. This has been the career of ex student John (Vivian) Macleod who is now one of the four senior Airport Operations Officers for Westralia Airports Corporation, responsible for airport safety.  

John attended Midland Technical School while completing his apprenticeship as a car and wagon builder with the railways in the mid 1960s. He describes his initial training as ‘brilliant’. At the time of his apprenticeship,  car and wagon builders learnt not only the skills of welding but carpentry. He also had the opportunity to work with the then very new material of fibreglass while making fixtures such as seats for the Prospector.

HMAS Duchess in 1968. The first ship Vivian MacLeod served on, returning from a 6 month tour.

Shortly after completing his apprenticeship he was called up for National Service. To avoid being drafted into the army he joined the navy as an ordinary seaman. His term in the navy ended up spanning 20 years during which time he was able to apply many of the  skills he had learnt through the railways, for example using fibreglass to repair boats.  He was also able to gain a whole range of new skills when he studied to become a navel shipwright and a marine engineer (diesel). It was while he was in the navy that he began training in areas such as Management, Quality Assurance and Control, Computer Technology and Communication.

Vivian MacLeod on the HMAS Melbourne in 1970.

His involvement with planes came about after he retired from the navy and began working at  the airport as a building projects officer. This required new types of in-house training including Airport Management and Airport Lighting.

His position has required him to learn specialized communication skills and to constantly keep abreast of new airport security practices

 

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