On Monday, we welcomed our new apprentices who were all excited to finally start their four-year apprenticeship here at TAC.

Apprentice Training Supervisor, Greg Wall will once again lead the group of seven through their paces and take them on an accelerated learning curve.

The group consists of four Mechanical and three Electrical apprentices and by the end of the four years, Greg will be able to hand over seven highly skilled and extremely well qualified tradespeople, with the hope of offering them full time employment here at TAC at the end of the program. “Our apprentice retention rate is around 60%” says Greg, “and of those that do leave, 99 % of the time they have good jobs to go to.”

Their first year will be spent in the Apprentice Training Workshop and for the first three months, they will lean how to use basic tools, manual and power tools, before breaking into their individual skill groups for six weeks for basic machining and basic electrical knowledge. By the middle of their first year they will be ready to take on some small plant jobs in the workshop and from the start of their second year they will leave the workshop to go on-site, rotating through various locations for between three and nine months. By the time they complete the four-year program, and are fully qualified tradespeople they will know the workings of the entire site.

Greg welcomed the new group and went on to say, “I’m very lucky because I get to train some really talented people and I also get to play a part in their futures, whether they continue in the trade or pursue other opportunities.”

Pictured above (L – R) - Steve Blundell (Training Advisor), Peter Sharkey (Utilities & Services Supervisor), Jordan Villella (Mechanical Apprentice), Keiran Turner (HR Officer), Harrison Spruce (Mechanical Apprentice), Toni Lawson (Maintenance Admin Assistant), Zac Trigg (Mechanical Apprentice), Lachlan Gibson (Electrical Apprentice), Alex Rooke (Mechanical Apprentice), Zac Saunders (Electrical Apprentice), Joshua Whitehead (Electrical Apprentice), Greg Wall (Apprentice Training Supervisor), Mal Muddle (Site Services Superintendent) and Simon Mitchell (Manager of People, Safety & Environment).