Sydney Football Stadium engineer Ray Massoud: ‘I wake up every day and look forward to work’

Graduate engineer Ray Massoud is kicking off a big career by working on the $735 million Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment, ahead of its opening next year.

Construction engineer Ray Massoud is just one of the thousands of Western Sydney construction workers pumping millions into the NSW economy during the pandemic.

The 24-year-old graduate engineer for John Holland has spent the past few months working on the $735m Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment. The stadium – which is scheduled to open in mid-2022 and is set to be used for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup – is one of the state’s biggest construction projects.

Graduate engineer, Ray Massoud, at the Sydney Football Stadium. He is one of many western Sydney based construction workers that work for John Holland. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

Raised in Merrylands, Mr Massoud began studying construction at Western Sydney University after losing his mum to cancer.

A scholarship from John Holland helped him complete his studies while he was struggling ­financially.

“The whole thing really had an effect on me emotionally and financially so the scholarship was helpful,” he said.

“What happened really inspired me to go harder.”

Now, Mr Massoud is one of the company’s most high performing graduates.

“I wake up every day and look forward to work,” Mr Massoud said.

Work in progress on the new Sydney Football Stadium. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“It’s so great feeling like you’re contributing to something. And it’s been great working on the stadium because one day I will get to experience it.”

Workers such as Mr Massoud are crucial to the sector, with about 26 per cent of all NSW workers at John Holland living in Western Sydney.

John Holland chief executive Joe Barr said tapping into the talent pool in the city’s west was crucial to the state’s economic recovery.