We recently participated in the ‘Career Tasters’ program, giving 15 local school students the opportunity to experience many facets of a day in the life of a major construction project. In collaboration with South Regional TAFE and Jobs and Skills WA, the team guided the students through possible career pathways in the construction industry.

The day began with a safety induction and allocation of the appropriate personal protective equipment for each member of the ‘crew’.

Aboriginal heritage monitoring is a significant part of the project as we open up the project site. Students participated in a simulated ‘artifact find’, scanning an area on the Collie River for Aboriginal ‘artifacts’ and recording their findings. The Alliance's Aboriginal Participation Manager, Joanne Hill, shared her knowledge about some of the local Aboriginal culture, speaking about the significance of the Collie River to local Aboriginal people.

“My favourite thing was when we went to Collie River and learnt a lot about the river and other things. We also did a hunt and that was fun”, said Noah, one of the participating students.

Next stop was the Raymond Road project site, to learn more about civil and structural construction. Students learnt how to use a sand penetrometer rod to test the compaction of the sand on site. This is a task that is regularly undertaken by the construction team and is essential to understanding ground conditions. Prior to testing the sand, students completed a ‘good to go’ assessment to ensure they could do the task safely.

“Today, I liked when we did the sand compaction test. Always be careful and don’t get your fingers in the weight. It was a good time and I had lots of fun”, said Jackson.

Back at the Community Hub, the students learned about a very different career option in construction by understanding more about the role of the community and stakeholder engagement team.

“My experience at the Bunbury Outer Ring Road has been great. The whole team made us feel welcome and it’s really interesting to learn about the different tasks they deal with every day. Overall, the Bunbury Outer Ring Road has been a great career taster”, Kye said.

Main Roads and the Alliance are committed to supporting people in gaining opportunities on the project through a variety of pathways, as well as promoting career opportunities for our future leaders.

Check out the video on how the day went.