As they approach a third of the way through a new project helping to reinvigorate Wujal Wujal following Cyclone Jasper last year, trainees have put their new tools to good use on a range of valuable projects.

Local Trainees are employed in our latest Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) project in the community. Over six months, they will work alongside the other crews of the project host Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council (WWASC), assisting with the clean-up and rebuild of assets and facilities lost or damaged in the flooding that engulfed most of the remote community last December.

We have provided all the trainees with tools of the trade and full PPE uniforms for the project. Creating pegboards for their hand tools was the perfect task to begin the formal training aspects of the project with Major Training (right).

More recently a generous donation of materials by the Cook region CDP Joint Venture Partners allowed the trainees to build tool chests for their larger tools (left). This build allowed them to learn and practice a range of practical construction skills and techniques, while constructing a useful place to keep their tools and equipment organised and safe.

These projects build on the tasks the group have already completed, including the work undertaken alongside RACQ’s “Blue Army” of volunteers right at the start of the project. By combining forces, the project got off to a flying start in early September with a massive cleanup achieved in the community nursery and a repair and repaint of the council’s ablutions block and Rural Transaction Centre building. Continuing these tasks the trainees also dedicated time to cleaning and restoring the Council Hall furniture which was damaged by the flooding. The beautifully restored furniture earned the trainees a thankful visit from Wujal Wujal Mayor Alistair Gibson (below).

The trainees will continue to clean, repair and rejuvenate community buildings, spaces and equipment over the coming months as they build skills and knowledge to attain their Certificate 1 in construction.

This story first appeared in the Cape York Weekly.

This SQW is one of the Queensland Government’s initiatives to grow employable skills. Participants gain a certificate level qualification while employed to undertake important community projects.