The apprentices – all young local men – were successful across a range of vocational areas. Winchelsea’s Chris Brown, a third year fitting and turning apprentice, came first in the regional leg of the World Skills Turning competition which was held at the Gordon Institute. The competition is run by WorldSkills Australia, an independent, non-profit organisation that conducts trade and skill competitions to encourage work skill excellence. Chris will now progress to the World Skills finals in Melbourne in 2006 and if successful there, he will participate at the next International World Skills competition in Japan in 2007. Chris’ colleague, Alistair Keddie, a first year apprentice from Torquay, came third in the World Skills turning competition and was nominated for an award in Vocational Education and Training (VET) by the Gordon Institute at the Geelong Regional Training Awards. Other Shell Geelong Refinery apprentices to receive recognition for excellence in their vocation are: - Peter Nikolovski, a first year dual trade electrical / instrument apprentice from Bell Park, who was nominated for best first year Electrical Apprentice by the Gordon Institute at the Geelong Regional Training Awards.
- Dean Jordan, a fourth year dual trade electrical / instrument apprentice from Hamlyn Heights, who won the award for Most Outstanding Dual Electrical/Instrumentation Trade Student at RMIT, as well as being nominated as the best third year electrical apprentice at the Gordon Institute at the Geelong Regional Training Awards
- Jamie Cotton, a first year fitting and turning apprentice from Bannockburn, who was nominated by Western Heights Secondary College and recognised for his achievements at the Victorian Top Design Awards in Melbourne.
“The awards are a great sign that the looming skills shortage faced by major industry in the Geelong region can be successfully addressed,” said Shell Geelong Refinery’s Engineering Manager, Alan Greaves. “We have completed research that shows 20 per cent of the Geelong trade workforce will retire in the next five years. The refinery will lose 60 to 70 skilled people in next two years alone. We need to hire more young people aged between 15 to 30 years of age and it’s great to see that we have such great skills already in our ranks,” said Alan. Shell has 12 apprentices (six dual trade electrical / instrument and six mechanical) working on site and is recruiting another two in 2006. The company employs thorough selection criteria during the recruiting process and this ensures a high standard of applicants. However it’s the training received on and off site, which is responsible for the quality of apprentices developing at the refinery. “Apprentices attend TAFE one day a week and this learning is reinforced on the job. On site, the first 12 months of an apprenticeship are spent in the main workshop where they become familiar with site operating equipment and conditions and undertake extensive Health, Safety, Security, Environment (HSSE) training. In subsequent years apprentices are rotated around the operation allowing exposure to all areas of the petro chemical manufacturing industry,” said Alan. “Apprentices are encouraged to further their skills in post trade studies and Shell reimburses the cost of this study, when training is completed. “The presence of local training organisations such as the Gordon Institute, as well as the forthcoming Australian Technical College, is also vital in developing high quality vocational skills within the workforce. “We are incredibly lucky to have local organisations such as the Gordon Institute that can complement the on-the-job development of our apprentices by providing high quality skills training,” he said. END
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