FNQ Skills Hub Increases Training Opportunities
Date: 26-Feb-2021
The Far North Queensland Regional Organisations of Councils (FNQROC) latest project has resulted in another successful training intake for water operators using the skills-hub model. The collaborative approach draws trainees from multiple councils to create a critical mass and uses QWRAP funding to subsidise travel costs to common locations (including treatment infrastructure) to undertake training as a group.
The recent FNQROC program saw nine operators trained by Simmonds and Bristow in the Certificate III in Water Industry Operations (Treatment) during late 2020 and early 2021. The trainees came from Cairns, Cassowary, Mareeba and Tablelands councils.
Erin Burns, Team Leader HR Services from Cairns Regional Council was instrumental in coordinating the successful training hub and congratulated the trainees and the councils on their cooperation.
“This experience has opened me up to what is possible and how I can better work with FNQROC to get opportunities off the ground for other industry training we are currently struggling to get delivered” she said.
“We have built on the award winning training for the Water Industry Worker program in north Queensland and the hub-training model championed by the Queensland Water Skills Partnership."
Carlie Sargent from the Water Skills Partnership said “Our aim is to increase training opportunities for all operators across Queensland. This is facilitated through hub-training but is only possible through regional collaboration among councils and local coordination by experts like Erin. We look forward to cooperating on future opportunities with FNQROC councils”.