Trainees building a career in construction
Release date: 06 September 2022
More than 70 trainees are set to enter the construction sector following the NSW Government Traineeship program, as application open for the next round.
The two-year traineeship program is a collaboration between NSW Government infrastructure agencies and industry partners, offering Year 12 school leavers a rounded experience in the infrastructure sector.
Trainees run through three rotations of eight months each with government agencies, contractors and consultant organisations. The trainees are now entering their third and final work rotation with a majority of them pursuing a future career in the infrastructure sector.
Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell said that 78 trainees from the 2021 intake are set to graduate in early 2023 and will leave with a diverse knowledge in areas of Business, Project Management, Practice and Procurement and Contracting.
“The program has been a great success so far and attracted trainees from all backgrounds from across the state,” Ms Mitchell said.
“The program expands the benefits of the NSW Government’s ongoing investment in infrastructure, opening up fantastic careers in the sector for our young people.
“The success of the program led to the opportunity being extended to school leavers again in 2021 and I am excited to say that we will offer new amazing opportunities for 2022 school leavers with applications now open for the program starting in February next year.”
Sapphira Chu from Campsie was part of the inaugural cohort of the NSW Infrastructure Traineeship program. Sapphira is studying a double degree at UNSW, and recently secured employment in the industry.
“I’m now in my last third of the program and working with construction company UrbanCore.
“I started out with School Infrastructure NSW and my favourite thing was collaborating with a range of consultants and see how a variety of perspectives, whether that be the analytical outlook from an engineer or the contemporary vision of an architect, joined together to work towards an end result - a new school for the community.”
Hayley Lennon from Grafton began her traineeship on a Transport for NSW project in early 2021, followed by eight months with a global business specialising in the delivery of public services. Hayley is now finishing the trainee program with Lipman.
“I signed up for the traineeship because I wanted to move into project management and now I would definitely encourage others to apply.
“This traineeship sets workers up for success while they are being educated on the skills of the job and learning how to apply them at work. I have learnt how to adapt to many different work environments and how to be a time efficient worker.”
Applications are now open for the 2023 Infrastructure Traineeship and 2022 high school leavers are encouraged to apply.
For more information, please visit the Infrastructure traineeship website.
