Doomadgee pathways to employment
In the remote gulf town of Doomadgee, pedestrian safety is being greatly improved through the construction of new purpose-built pathways by a local workforce.
Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council (DASC) have partnered with Community Owned Enterprises (COE) and locally owned contractors Gulf Building Services to construct the network of paths. They will stretch across the town, from the shop to the roadhouse, and extend to the popular recreation area at the weir. They will allow residents including children, elderly and disabled community members to more safely move around the town without using roadways.
Path excavation work getting underway one morning with DASC Director of Economic & Community Development, Craig Oxlade and My Pathway Business Development Manager, Mark England looking on.
The physical task of building the concrete paths is being undertaken by 12 local Indigenous trainees employed by DASC for six months under the Queensland Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work (SQW) initiative. The COE-designed-and-led project will allow the trainees to gain invaluable skills and experience while working towards a formal construction certification. These will all greatly boost the employability of these participants, who have all experienced unemployment to some extent.
The Trainee group includes participants as young as 19, for whom this is their first paid role, but also has provided new opportunities to several participants in their forties. In this way the project will not only help several community members enter the workforce, but also help others break cycles of unemployment. This ensures the longer-term benefits provide the greatest possible impact to the community. All trainees are mentored by Jeremy Wilson, owner of Gulf Building Services, not only imparting his considerable knowledge and experience in local projects but also ensuring the skills and experience developed are readying trainees for available roles in and around Doomadgee.
Trainees in their COE supplied PPE on their first day with Jeremy Wilson from Gulf Building Services.
With work commencing opposite the store, the community has taken great interest in the project. A crowd gathers each day to watch the path take shape, eagerly awaiting its completion.
This Skilling Queenslanders for Work project is proudly funded by the Queensland Government.