A total of 24 Year 11 students will obtain a Certificate II Pre-Apprenticeship qualification in Electro Technology Electrician or Engineering Mechanical Trade at North Regional TAFE as part of the Pilbara Collaboration, an initiative coordinated by The Chamber of Minerals & Energy of WA (CME).
CME chief executive Paul Everingham said Collaboration partners BHP, Chevron Australia, CITIC Pacific Mining, Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto Ore, Roy Hill, Woodside and Yara Pilbara had all committed to ensuring a job interview for available apprenticeships to students who apply and who have completed a relevant pre-apprenticeship course with North Regional TAFE.
“It is fantastic to see government departments, Pilbara high schools, North Regional TAFE and industry taking a strategic approach and trialling new and innovative approaches to assist students in the transition from school to further study and hopefully employment in the resource sector.
“What will make this program unique is that students will be released from high school to North Regional TAFE for either a term or a semester in Year 11, and then will spend one day per week in Year 12 in a simulated work environment.
“Ensuring local students have training opportunities that not only allow them to remain part of the community in which they live, while filling job roles in the Pilbara that require specific skills, is a win-win situation for all.”
The Pilbara Collaboration was developed in response to the Premier’s request for industry and Government to work together to build on individual companies’ existing social and economic contribution to the Pilbara region. The first agreed priority area for collaboration has been employment, education and training.
