Our New Bridgewater Bridge 'Pre-employment Program' was a roaring success, helping build the capability and capacity of Tasmania's construction industry, and providing a career kick-start for 56 people who were either long-term unemployed, indigenous, disengaged youth, or a person living with a disability.

The program was developed by us, funded by Keystone Tasmania, and delivered in partnership with TasTAFE and Lifeline.

The week-long course, delivered at TasTAFE’s Clarence campus, included units from the Certificate II in Civil Construction, as well as information about health and safety and a life skills session. It was a mix of theory and practical training.

Overall, 500 people applied to join the course, 149 were shortlisted, and 56 participants (84% of the intake) graduated with job-ready skills. 26% were women and 28% were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Many of the graduates are now employed on the project, including in the purpose-built pre-cast concrete production facility in Bridgewater, where the 1,000 concrete segments needed to build the bridge are being produced.

Feedback from some of the participants included...

“I’ve gotten a lot of tools from this course to use out there” – Tahlia 

“A great foundation to build upon with the skills and knowledge required for the workplace” – Melanna

“I'm more confident with my skills, knowledge, and communication” – Daniel

A project the size and scale of the New Bridgewater Bridge presents many challenges in terms of workforce capacity, skills, training and employment. Attracting and training new people like this not only helps the project but will also increase the long-term skills and capacity of Tasmania's construction industry.

Pictured: Graduates from one of the five intakes with some of the project team.