Our Western Australian Transport team consistently strive to provide opportunities for apprentices and trainees, particularly Indigenous and female apprentices. 

In recent weeks Venture Smart Project Director Mick O'Bradaigh says two Indigenous first year apprentices started their journey with the team. These two apprentices are also mature age and are undertaking their Cert III in Electrotechnology as they learn on the job.

"We're now supporting eight Electrical Apprentices with a ninth Indigenous candidate hopefully starting later this month in Bunbury, in regional WA," Mick says proudly. "That includes two females and six Indigenous apprentices." 

Mick says the team take on apprentices to develop young engineering talent. 

Our team is engaging closely with Indigenous communities to create opportunities for Aboriginal workers and suppliers.

Driving meaningful change across the industry

To get school kids interested in undertaking apprenticeships, several of the team's engineers and supervisors from the Pilbara region joined Mick in Northam, around 120km east of Perth, for a school careers expo.

Capital Works Supervisor Mick Sinclair, Project Engineer Arif Atkins and Capital Works Supervisor Liam Spiers attended the event, developed by Directions Workforce Solutions (Directions).

Directions is a community-based charity that works with employers, apprentices, students and jobseekers in WA. They organised the expo at the Northam Recreation Centre to create an opportunity for Wheatbelt jobseekers, parents, students, teachers and others to access quality careers and training pathway information in one location.

Mick says Venture Smart are working toward their long-term strategy to attract more women and Indigenous youth into the Transport industry, particularly in the electrical field given the contract's expertise in this area. 

"It was great to see a lot of key employers at the expo," Mick says. "Universities, banks and large superannuation firms, and infrastructure providers like Water Corp and Western Power were all there. It was important for Ventia and Venture Smart to be represented as a key employer in the region."

General Manager Road Transport Operations David McPadden says this focus is also recognition of Mick's leadership and commitment to driving diversity across Venture Smart. 

I know personally how passionate Mick is about challenging the norm to drive meaningful change across the industry.