Kapitol Open Day 2026: Our Graduate Program
Breaking into construction means navigating a lot of unknowns. Kapitol Open Day exists to remove a few of them.
Kapitol team member Anton Ilchenko will soon take on one of the most demanding feats in endurance sport: a solo crossing of the English Channel. No wetsuit. No stopping. All for the children of Victoria. This is more than a swim. It is a mission to help build safer futures for kids across the state, in partnership with YMCA Open Doors — and it is one we are getting behind.
By day, Anton is a Senior Estimator in our Estimating team in Melbourne. His work is detailed and methodical — pricing tenders, scoping packages, pressure-testing assumptions and helping our project teams head to site with clearer numbers and fewer surprises. Estimating is one of those disciplines where the work done early shapes the certainty everyone relies on later.
Anton is also a former national-level open water swimmer who has spent decades pushing the limits of endurance, and his track record speaks for itself:
As a father to his young son Ashton, who is learning to swim, this cause is personal. But what Anton is taking on reaches well beyond one family.
Nearly 40 per cent of children leave primary school without knowing how to swim. Drowning remains one of the leading causes of accidental death among Australian children, and increasing access to swim education is one of the most effective ways to prevent it.
Every dollar raised goes directly to YMCA Open Doors to fund learn-to-swim programs for Victorian children, water safety education in schools and communities, and access for families who cannot otherwise afford lessons. This support will not just fund lessons. It will help save lives.
Construction is delivered by people, and the people on our team carry on full lives outside the work — families, communities, causes they care about. Backing Anton is a straightforward extension of that. He is one of our own, taking on something difficult for a reason that matters, and we want to help amplify the impact.
Kapitol is matching every dollar raised, up to $5,000. Your donation goes twice as far — give $50 and $100 reaches YMCA Open Doors.
Support Anton’s English Channel crossing and help build a safer future for children in Victoria.
