June 17, 2014
by Marcus Priaulx
Barambah PaCE
Noel Haslam realised he had a good worker when Derek Jerome ran to get something he needed for a job.
Derek, along with Lyndon Hopkins and Charles Speedy, has proven his worth to the Gympie builder for the past 10 weeks as they extended and renovated the Yurri Muntha Café.
“It’s the first opportunity I’ve had to employ young fellas within the community and the boys are keen,” Noel said.
“They’ve very capable at the task at hand.
“The boys have a laugh too. They make fun of me and each other and keep it light.”
Noel came to the trade as a 17-year-old Mossman State High School graduate because he liked the idea of doing something different every day at various work sites.
His father, Noel Snr, was a PE teacher and his mum Etta managed the Sheraton Hotel’s laundry at Port Douglas, just north of Cairns.
It was at this now tourist hotspot that Noel grew up with his two sisters, Sandra and Katie, and their younger cousin Wayne.
He worked in the laundry with his mother until he applied for a Q Build apprenticeship.
It was advertised throughout Cape York and Noel beat strong competition for the work because “I pretty much hounded them for it”.
“I studied the questions and had a few mock interviews with the job agency to prepare for it,” Noel said.
When he got the job he was sent to Thursday Island and felt nervous to leave home.
“I was lucky because I had family on the Island and stayed with them,” he said. “They looked after me.”
Noel was then sent to Murray Island to help build a school for four months and a life of travel with the job followed.
He worked in Cairns, Bamaga, Old Mapoon and other communities.
He became a registered builder in 2006 after he moved with his wife, Nicole, and their children to Gympie.
He had found himself sub-contracting and supervising worksites so thought he should get paid at the same level as the registered builders he was working for.
Noel built his supervising experience for the necessary two years then completed written and practical examinations to become qualified at age 32.
“Then the hard part of finding work began,” Noel said with a smile.
But it has come in a constant flow and he now hopes to work in more towns like Cherbourg so he can create employment for Aboriginal people.
“It’s been rewarding for me personally to give these young blokes in Cherbourg an opportunity,” he said.
“They’ve taken it with both hands; jumped at it.”
He stressed that school is important and is glad he graduated from Year 12.
“You have to know how to read and write, make measurements, work with people, make a daily commitment, have common sense,” he said of the benefits a solid education can give people to use within the building industry.
“It’s stood me in good stead and allowed me to build a future for myself and my family.
“I hope to enable more young Indigenous people to do the same through my company.
“But they need to go to school or further their education through TAFE to get the basics so they can be employed and make a career for themselves; not just for the short term but throughout the years.”
