May
2011
Indigenous Australian Apprentices benefit from new MEGT project
Luke Austin, Mitchell English, Sarah Harrange (MEGT), Adrian Hill (MEGT), Michael Wenham, Martin Latham with trainees hosted by Thiess.
Thiess, a major construction, mining and services contractor, is also a major employer of apprentices and trainees. And they have a strong commitment to sustainable employment of Indigenous Australians.
An alliance with RTA, Thiess, Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) and Hyder Consulting, has been formed to construct the eastern section of the $1.7 billion Hunter Expressway Project in NSW. The Alliance section is 13.3km long and the project involves building a four-lane divided highway from the end of the F3 Freeway at Newcastle to Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley.
Partnering with MEGT Group Training Thiess is hosting seventeen Australian Apprentices for the project. Determined to meet their commitment to the employment and training of Indigenous Australians, six of the Australian Apprentices come from local indigenous communities.
MEGT is providing the essential pastoral care, mentoring and procedural support to help Thiess concentrate on what it does best:
• building the expressway
• $60 million of mine subsidence foundation treatment
• two million cubic metres of earthworks
• three viaduct bridges (840m long, 40m high and 20,000m2 bridge deck), and
• 16 other bridges (overpasses etc 14,000m2 bridge deck).
To date, five apprentices (of which two are Indigenous Australians) are completing the Certificate III Formwork/Falsework in a block release program at the Hunter Institute Tighes Hill campus. The apprentices will be working on constructing the bridges and viaducts.
Twelve trainees (of which four are Indigenous Australians) are completing Certificate II Civil Construction with on-the-job training through the Hunter Institute. Some of the trainee’s tasks include surveying, laying pipes for drainage, building silt fences and operating small plant and equipment.
Adrian Hill, Area Manager for MEGT Group Training and Sarah Harrang MEGT Newcastle Industry Employment consultant are working closely with Deb Nooyen and Sam Gillett from MEGT’s specialist Indigenous Apprenticeship and Traineeship Network to help source and provide pastoral care and mentoring for the team.
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