Indigenous graduates celebrate

BHP Billiton and Ngarda Civil and Mining have celebrated the graduation of their third group of local indigenous trainees.

The training course is one of the few actually delivered at an operational mine site at Yarrie; two and a half hours north-east of Port Hedland.

The Course 1100 graduation was held at the Purarrka Indigenous Mining Academy, north of the Muccan river in Nyamal country.

Senior BHP Billiton and Ngarda Civil and Mining management representatives flew from Perth, students and staff flew from Newman and supporters from various agencies drove the two-and-a-half hours from Port Hedland to attend.

Established in 2008 the Purarrka Indigenous Mining Academy delivers three programs: a certificate two in resources and infrastructure work preparation, life skills in health, finance, values and culture and work readiness and skills in time management, hygiene and fatigue.

Trainees are placed in various positions around the mine as labourers, train loaders, cooks, administrators or as machinery operators.

“It is one thing to be taught the importance of fatigue and told to be in bed by 8.30pm to get eight hours and totally different to experience 12-hour working days in the heat, dust and flies and then find they are in bed at 7.30pm exhausted,” Ngarda general manager Darren Lundberg said.

Four PIMA trainees have recently started at Yarrie as part of on-the-job training.