APPRENTICES GET NEW LEASE ON LIFE LEARNING ON WESTCONNEX
Sam Field from Baulkham Hills was recently selected as one of the first 15 recruits to be trained up by the newly established WestConnex Training Academy and engaged on the project.
The Australian and NSW Governments are committed to improving job prospects for Indigenous Australians, longterm unemployed and people who have encountered barriers to employment.
Without the proper training, it is often too hard for people to make the leap from unemployment to jobs on major construction sites.
Working with Quakers Hill TAFE, registered training organisations and a number of employment agencies, including Mission Australia who sponsored Mr Field, the contractors delivering the M4 East and New M5 projects, have established a fantastic pathway for apprentices and trainees to work on Australia’s largest infrastructure project.
Students who graduate from TAFE’s pre-employment programs where they learn basic civil construction industry skills such as working at heights, using power tools, and operating small machinery are then recruited for roles on the projects and further training at the WestConnex Training Academy.
Provided with a balance of classroom time and experience on the job, these recruits learn all about safely operating machinery, workplace health and safety as well as other specific skills relevant to civil construction and tunnelling work.
The academy will also provide extra skills such as project inductions and tunnelling training for more than 1,500 workers already employed on the WestConnex M4 East and New M5.
For more information on the academy visit www.westconnex. com.au.
