It is an exciting time for students across Victoria, with the Victorian Government pledging to open one-hundred schools between 2019 and 2026.
A Local Jobs First project, it is envisioned these new schools will accommodate between eighty-five and ninety-five thousand students while providing opportunities for local industry, as well as supporting the employment of apprentices, trainees and cadets through the Major Project Skills Guarantee (MPSG) policy.
The MPSG policy is applicable to all construction projects valued at over twenty million dollars and ensures that Victorian apprentices, trainees and cadets are used for at least ten percent of the total estimated labour hours.
Local Jobs First Commissioner, Don Matthews recently visited the Davis Creek Primary School site, a co-located early learning facility and primary school in Tarneit currently in the construction phase and part of the New Schools 2020 project.
Set to open in term one of next year, this state-of-the-art primary school will be home to five-hundred and twenty-five students in the new school year and has provided employment opportunities for several apprentices and local businesses.
Apprentices are gaining firsthand experience on large-scale projects and will be able to put their skills into practice, helping them gain more confidence in a working environment. Local Jobs First is continuing to create and invest in opportunities for apprentices, trainees and cadets in their development and learning.
Local Jobs First Commissioner, Don Matthews said: “I am pleased to see the number of opportunities the Local Jobs First policy is providing to apprentices and local industry. It is very satisfying being able to visit Local Jobs First project sites, like Davis Creek Primary School and seeing first-hand the number of apprentices we now have working on large state-wide Victorian Government projects.”
Project Manager, Jeff Ryan from ADCO Constructions who has been tasked with the delivery of the Davis Creek Primary School, reiterated similar words: “Local Jobs First is supporting the next generation of workers and equipping them with the skills they need to succeed. Local Jobs First does not only help support local businesses, but also encourages and aids the development of the next generation of skilled workers across the state.”
The recent boom in education infrastructure through the New Schools 2020 project will continue to provide local businesses and industry ongoing opportunities to participate in government procurement.
Local businesses interested in supplying goods and services to Local Jobs First projects, can register through the Industry Capability Network.
