Civmec brings high skilled jobs to the Hunter

This article is sponsored by Civmec.

While it was once a staple of the Australian economy, high skilled manufacturing jobs have been becoming more and more scarce over the past four decades.

However, thanks to a substantial investment by one of the nation’s leading engineering companies, young people right across the Hunter region are being given the opportunity to once again share in the rewards of this industry.

Civmec – whose state-of-the-art east coast base is located at Tomago on the banks of the Hunter River – services the Oil and Gas, Metals and Minerals, Infrastructure and Marine and Defence sectors across the country, with several large projects in New South Wales and Queensland. 

Their presence and continued operation has the potential to inject tens of millions of dollars annually into the local economy in wages and provide genuine opportunities for decades to come. 

The company identified a shortage of future skilled manufacturing employees in the Hunter region. As a result, they set about changing it through the establishment of apprenticeship and trainee programs. 

Civmec has been providing the youth of the Hunter training and apprenticeship opportunities since their arrival to Newcastle in 2016. 

At the program’s peak, 25 apprentices and trainees were engaged and a number have now graduated to take up full-time roles. Many have continued their careers at Civmec and hope to one day fulfill local leadership opportunities at the facility. 

Candace Smith, a recent graduate boilermaker of the apprenticeship program, said it was the “best feeling ever knowing you have accomplished a goal of becoming a tradie.”

Central to the trainee and apprenticeship program is training for each participant’s future at Civmec. The company doesn’t believe in providing training without real, long-term career prospects. 

“Civmec goes through a rigorous process to choose the right people,” Facility Manager East Coast, Noel McCausland explained, adding that the strong number of applicants in recent times had ensured their standards continued to be “very high”.

All of their apprentices attend TAFE one day a week and get to work on some of the largest mining and infrastructure work on the east coast through the remainder of the week. 

Whilst trainees have structured workplace training and are provided time to study, they are also encouraged, coached and supported to pursue their chosen interests. 

Civmec trainee Chiara Dagg commenced on reception in 2016 completing a Certificate III in Business Administration and has grown with the company moving into a recruitment administrator position whilst completing a Certificate IV in Human Resources.    

Each year the business engages a number of new apprentices and trainees based on the amount of work coming into the facilities. 

Intakes are generally at the commencement of the year however mid-year intakes have also occurred based on industry demand. 

Most importantly however, by the time each apprentice is a fully qualified tradesperson, they know the workings of the entire site and the intricacies of their chosen profession.  

At the end of four years the program has produced a select group of highly skilled, qualified people who have in front of them a long term, sustainable career within Civmec and the wider construction industry. 

This article is sponsored by Civmec.