Inland Rail Skills Academy graduates (from left) Hamilton Currie, Brett Whyman and (far right) Lawrence Button with Inland Rail’s Cathy Duncan, Senior Program Skills and Training Advisor, and Adam O’Sullivan, Rail Superintendent, Martinus (second right).
A trio of Inland Rail Skills Academy graduates have used their new-found skills to find employment with Inland Rail contractor Martinus Rail and make their own contributions to the project.
The three graduates: Brett Whyman, Lawrence Button and Hamilton Currie, each completed a five-week Certificate II in Rail Infrastructure course through the Inland Rail Skills Academy earlier this year. The course, provided by First Nations training provider Yakka Training, took place over five weeks in March and April in Wagga Wagga.
The graduates then started work with Inland Rail contractor Martinus Rail and were assigned to the Stockinbingal to Parkes (S2P) section during the September possession, a 100-hour period where the rail line was closed and an intense period of construction took place.
Inland Rail is an approximately 1,600km freight rail line that will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, enhancing Australia’s national freight network and supply chain capabilities, connecting existing freight routes through rail, roads and ports, and supporting Australia’s growth.
The Inland Rail sections between Beveridge in Victoria and Parkes in New South Wales are prioritised for completion by 2027.
Brett Whyman, Martinus employee and Inland Rail Skills Academy graduate, said “The Inland Rail Skills Academy appealed to me because it gave me an opportunity to put my foot in the door and start in the rail industry. The advice I’d give to locals about the Inland Rail Skills Academy is: go for it.
It’s very rewarding once you get into the industry and the Inland Rail Skills Academy will help you with everything to get into the industry.”