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For the past 3 weeks, Major Training Group has partnered up with Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ), Protech, and Australian Training Works (ATW) to deliver a successful Trade Ready Program.
Trade Ready has been designed to give individuals a better understanding of the construction industry and the work that’s involved so that they can make an informed decision about their future. Major Training Group offered industry support and funded training through the CSQ Trade Ready initiative. It provides individuals with job-ready skills through entry-level training, life skills training, simulated workplace experience, and green building skills. Trade Ready links individuals with employers for real work opportunities.
In the recruitment stage of this program diversity was a high priority. Candidates were interviewed then hand-selected by Protech and ATW for a place in the program, 15 candidates were put forward and the final candidates were a mixed group including; Women, Indigenous, Mature Aged, and Long Term unemployed candidates.
When meeting the candidates for the first time it was clear that they all had 1 thing in common, a passion for the construction industry. In the next 3 weeks, students learned a lot about one of the biggest Major Infrastructure Project in SEQ whilst obtaining the skills required to secure work in this industry.
To ensure the student understood the expectations of the industry, the program commenced every morning at 6:30 am followed by a project-specific pre-start. This was to give the students an insight as to what was happening daily on a live Major Project.
In the first week of the program, students completed a mixture of accredited and non-accredited training and life skills. This included completing an introduction into environmental & sustainable practices in the construction industry, first aid course, and work safely at heights ticket followed by life skills on nutrition, workplace fitness, mental health, interpersonal skills, and personal development strategies. At the end of week one, the students were introduced to guest speakers directly from the Cross River Rail project. This was a great opportunity to learn and ask questions about the Major Project.
When commencing into week two of the program, the students explained how they were already feeling like they were falling into a routine of getting up at sunrise and making their way into ‘work’. When arriving on Monday the students were faced with completing a tailored fitness endurance boot camp run by Mark at MQ Fit. As a part of the program, the students were needed to be challenged to ensure they were physically fit and able to carry out a heavy labour intensive job. This program proved to be a success after hearing the students provide feedback the following day.
For the rest of week two, the students completed more accredited and non-accredited training. This included enter and work in confined spaces ticket, shifting materials safely using manual handling methods followed by a session on financial literacy where a guest speaker from CBUS attended the site to educate the students on superannuation. To close out week two, guest speakers from Cross River Rail attended the class and ran the students through a basic project activity. The students were then invited to a celebratory BBQ lunch at Major Training’s facility in Yatala to close out the 2 weeks of theory-based learning, this was a soft start into transitioning from classroom-based learning to on the job simulated work experience.
In the final week of the Trade Ready program, the students completed 5 full days of work experience simulated by Major Training’s industry trainers. The students covered off on many project related tasks such as; pre-start checks on machinery, lifting and moving concrete culverts, using excavators and skid-steer machines to create and widen an access road, level out and spread excess dirt, dogging and set up exclusion zones with barricading and signage. This is just a snippet of the activities carried out over the 5 days onsite by the students.
One of the participants quoted on the final day “I was stoked to have a drive of the franna and perform a couple of lifts. Apparently, I did really well, I was smooth on the controls and smooth moving with a load, and I’m definitely interested in getting crane tickets at some point.”
With the program coming to an end, there was one thing left to do. Sign the participants into a Certificate II in Civil Construction traineeship and into fulltime work. This was made possible by Protech and ATW, 8 candidates were provided with the opportunity to be employed full-time and hosted out to work on one of SEQ biggest Major Projects, Cross River Rail. We were also able to place a further 2 students from the program into full-time work on other various major projects.
Hearing and seeing how much of an impact this program had on all the students on the final day is why we love what we do here at Major Training Group. I would like to thank and congratulate all 15 participants on embracing the Trade Ready Program and we wish you well on your future endeavours in the Construction Industry.
I would also like to thank all the stakeholders that made this program a success, Justin Playle and John Gray from CSQ, Ashley Martens from ATW, Charlie Fetoai, and Rebecca Skipper from Protech, Robbie Brown from Cross River Rail, and all of the amazing trainers at Major Training.
Check out the CSQ funded courses here. For more information about the courses, contact us.
