2016NationalApprenticeandCadetoftheYear

News

Around 250 people gathered at The Triffid on Saturday 27 May 2017 to celebrate Hutchies’ tenth annual National Apprentice and Cadet of the Year awards. This was the biggest crowd we’ve ever had at this event and we were stoked, not just about the level of support, but also the quality and volume of award submissions.

#The awards explained

Every year we identify an exceptional cadet, apprentice and a future leader from Hutchies’ training and professional development programs. Teams nominate award candidates who are recognised for consistently performing beyond expectations. Nominations are by way of a formal submissions process, addressing strict selection criteria. This year, a total of 22 extremely high quality submissions were received across all three categories. There were so many, of such great quality that we decided to give an additional encouragement award.

#Hutchies' home-grown talent

Hutchies’ Workforce Development Team and our training and professional development programs were originally established to expand the Hutchies workforce from within. From pre-vocational training, to apprenticeships, and the nurturing of future leaders, our Workforce Development Team is focused on ensuring that young people are highly skilled and well supported in their construction career – whether within Hutchies or elsewhere in the industry.

Around 19% of all Hutchies employees who have been with us for more than 10 years started as an apprentice with us. We’re thrilled to have retained such a high percentage of home grown talent. We’re also proud that our courses are some of the most successful in the industry, with a 97% completion rate for apprentices (against an industry average of 60%).

#The event

Hutchies veteran Paul De Jong was special guest speaker at the awards ceremony, sharing his story of 25 years in the construction industry and speaking about the importance of having good mentors throughout your career. Special guests included representatives from Busy at Work, Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) and Total Tools. Once the formalities were over, we partied into the evening with a DJ, followed by a live band.