Opportunity Of A Lifetime

MRAEL trainee program at Swickers — Swickers’ Maintenance Manager Dave Howard, school-based trainee Carl Fewquandie and Human Resources Manager Rebecca Richmond

Carl’s Carving A Career At Swickers

Year 11 student Carl Fewquandie has begun a Certificate II in Engineering and is learning important new life skills thanks to MRAEL’s Indigenous Employment and Training Project.

Carl is interested in a career in the electrical trades but jumped at the opportunity to do an engineering traineeship and work at Swickers Kingaroy Bacon Factory as a stepping stone to his career.

His ultimate goal is to become an electrical engineer and MRAEL researched various options before he started the traineeship. The plan is for him to to undertake the school-based traineeship and then try to secure an electrical apprenticeship.

Carl is being exposed to a wide variety of work at Swickers … not only engineering but also electrical and some fitting and turning, a great opportunity to support his future career goals.

He’s learning how to work as part of a team as well doing hands-on maintenance in Swickers’ workshop.

Carl works in conjunction with a tradesman on repair jobs and is learning how to TIG weld, spray paint and recondition electrical motors. He’s also getting very familiar at reconditioning the all-important hooks and gambles that keep the processing line flowing smoothly.

Swickers’ Maintenance Manager Dave Howard said Carl was going “really well” and was showing a real skill at welding.

Feedback from his TAFE teachers has also been extremely positive.

Carl works at Swickers one day a week as well as completing TAFE modules and attending school. During the school holidays, he has the opportunity of spending more time – and earning more money – at Swickers.

Swickers’ Human Resources Manager Rebecca Richmond said other students interested in working at Swickers should register their interest with MRAEL for this year’s intake of apprentices and trainees.

July 11, 2012

Ten young Indigenous trainees are now combining work with school in an innovative project organised by Kingaroy-based apprenticeships company MRAEL with the backing of Stanwell Corporation and the local Wakka Wakka people.

MRAEL Apprenticeship Specialist Frances Ross told southburnett.com.au that she had become frustrated as she knew there were local indigenous students who would love the opportunity to undertake a traineeship.

There were also host companies who would love to provide the students with an opportunity. The only thing standing in the way was a lack of funding and someone to co-ordinate the process.

The solution came in the form of the Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) drawn up between Stanwell Corporation and the Wakka Wakka people.

An implementation group set as a result of this ILUA provided the funding necessary to allow MRAEL to establish its new “Indigenous Employment and Training Project”.

Frances said the project aimed to provide 10 fully-funded school-based traineeship opportunities for Year 10 or Year 11 indigenous students in the South Burnett where these opportunities did not exist previously.

Community consultation had identified traineeship opportunities in the areas of retail, hospitality, horticulture, health and community, business, engineering and electrical.

Each student must agree to complete Year 12 as a condition of being accepted into the program.

“The overall goal of the project is to see each school-based trainee through to successful completion of their traineeship and to provide a pathway for on-going training and development,” Frances said.

The qualifications that the trainees will earn are nationally recognised.

“The students will not only work towards achieving these qualifications but gain real work life skills to assist them after they complete Year 12,” she said.

Nineteen students – from Kingaroy, Murgon and Nanango high schools – applied and the 10 successful candidates have now been selected and placed with employers including Swickers, Ken Mills Toyota, Rendezvous Designs and South Burnett CTC.

One of the students, Lehman Brunjes, has actually begun an apprenticeship at a local electrical business as no traineeship option was available.

“MRAEL have put in a huge amount of hours and effort into this project and I am passionate about providing this opportunity which has never existed before,” Frances said.