ADP Hunter Valley, NSW 22nd – 24th October 2012

The annual MIGAS Apprentice Development Program (ADP) was held last week at the Hunter Valley Hotel Academy (HVHA) at Kurri TAFE.  The ADP is supported by MIGAS and our Host Employers and provides an opportunity for selected apprentices and trainees to develop skills such as communication, leadership, teamwork and setting goals.

On Monday afternoon, 16 nervous participants, aged between 18 and 25, arrived at HVHA.  They had come from Brisbane, Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter Valley.  They were to spend 2 ½ days in a place they had never been, with people they had never met, and they did not really know what they would be doing.  When they were given a ‘Leatherman’ along with their ADP t-shirt, cap and water bottle, they were even more unsure of what was to come!

Hugh Gyton conducted the first session and convinced them very quickly that “Conversations Do Matter”.  They all learnt a lot more about themselves and the way in which they communicate and influence other people.

After morning tea on Tuesday, the participants were introduced to their next presenter, Daryl Walker.  After they were given directions by Daryl, they spent the rest of the day outside in the bush surrounding the TAFE.  In small groups, communicating with 2-way radios, they collected the necessary supplies to construct a chair.  All groups had to construct the same chair and the chair had to actually hold a person so they could be carried back to base.  The ‘Leatherman’ got a great work out and no blood was spilled!  The day ended with a bbq supplied by local MIGAS staff.  The amount of food consumed was testimony to the energy they had all used during the day and the mud cakes were spirited away to be eaten for supper.

The day ended with an after dinner session from Australian Super about budgeting and being rich and comfortable in your old age.  Even with age 60 seeming like something from another planet, the questions asked indicated a couple of potential millionaires in our midst.

The final day started with a “Day of Hope” session conducted by Glen Gerryn.  Wow!  Glen’s main message can be summed up as, “To succeed, you have to believe in something with such a passion, it actually becomes a reality”.  Glen’s own passion could not be ignored and will affect some of these young people for the rest of their lives.

We all came back down to earth with our last session from Paul Alexander from Roadwhyse.  Paul is an ambulance officer and he spoke about his experiences with road crashes.  I have no doubt that all drove home from Kurri far more cautiously and aware than when they had arrived that morning.

The 16 young people who left were very different from those who had arrived 2 ½ days earlier.  They had made friends with people well outside their comfort zones and been motivated to achieve great things in their lives.  A number of them asked why the program did not run for a week as they felt there was so much more for them to learn!

We look forward to bigger and better things in the MIGAS Apprentice Development Program in 2013.

Apprentice development

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ADP Brisbane, QLD 19th – 20th May 2011

ADP Hunter Valley, NSW 5th-7th April 2011

MIGAS Apprentice Development Program

Brisbane 19th – 20th May 2011 

The Apprentice Development Program (ADP) was created by MIGAS Apprentices & Trainees to recognise the wealth of talent and commitment that exists amongst the MIGAS network of apprentices and trainees. The creative learning environment of MIGAS’ ADP is designed to be a unique opportunity for participants to develop their leadership, entrepreneurial and career development skills.

To be considered for a position in the elite program the nominee must prove that they are committed to their apprenticeship/traineeship and be able to demonstrate leadership skills in all areas of their apprenticeship or traineeship.

For photos of the Queensland Program, click here.

MIGAS Apprentice Development Program

Hunter Valley  5th – 7th April 2011

The Apprentice Development Program (ADP) was created by MIGAS Apprentices & Trainees to recognise the wealth of talent and commitment that exists amongst the MIGAS network of apprentices and trainees. The creative learning environment of MIGAS’ ADP is designed to be a unique opportunity for participants to develop their leadership, entrepreneurial and career development skills.

To be considered for a position in the elite program the nominee must prove that they are committed to their apprenticeship/traineeship and be able to demonstrate leadership skills in all areas of their apprenticeship or traineeship.

Read on for a day by day recount from one of our MIGAS representatives who attended.  More information to follow!  For photos of the NSW/Vic Program, head to here and here.

Day 1:

The attendees of the first Apprentice Development Program arrived early and enthusiastically to register for their first session.  David began by introducing  himself and spoke a little on the program’s inception, which included his desire to share insightful information with young people which will, in turn, enable them the best chance of future success.  After this the attendees of 12 boys and 1 girl introduced themselves one at a time and shared their expectations of the program.

Guest speaker, Hugh Gyton, started off the first session in his usual dynamic style.  He delivered his Conversation M.O.D.E. which allowed the attendees to learn not only about their own make up and personality style, but also how to look out for personality style of others.

Day 2:

The group was ready to go at 8:30am listening intently to Hugh as he shared his methods of making conversation work and how to tap into other peoples style’s of communication to get the best result out of every conversation we have.  Hugh concluded with some steps to combat the inner chatter that goes on in our head which he refers to as “the monkey” and to enable us to prepare ourselves for a conversation with another person.  The participation from the group was impressive as they worked through the session together, really taking the message in.

Morning tea was served before they all embarked on the next session with Darryl Walker to experience the forest and learn decision making techniques that are best learned in unfamiliar territory – the bush at Blackbutt reserve.

Darryl gave a short talk on the importance of teamwork and decision making for success in business.  The candidates broke up into teams in preparation for the exercise ahead.  The teams were to navigate through the bush using coordinates that Darryl had given them and were to use a GPS to find some necessary equipment in which they would construct a chair to carry “Cleopatra”.  This chair construction had to not only be planned by the three  teams in separate places, they needed to look the same and  needed to be safe enough for “Cleopatra” to be carried to the edge of the reserve safely.

The Teams were:

Misguided - Shelbee, Matt, Chris and Brian

The A Team - Mick, Stuart, Nathan and Nathan.

Bear Grills - Adam, Jacob, Ben, Tane and Joe.

Hayley, MIGAS Central Coast Administration, followed team Misguided, with Brian as the navigator, and his job was to find the wood that had been hidden throughout the bush.  Chris was the radio person in charge of working through the objectives of construction with the other teams.  Chris was unable to get radio contact with the other teams, so had to make all the decisions on how the chair should look and construction commenced.

The constructed chairs were somewhat different, but much effort had gone into each one regardless of the obstacles they faced as teams.

It has to be said that Hayley went the extra mile, literally, to get some terrific shots of the session and managed to make her way out of the bush without the help of a map.  Well done Hayley, who said women couldn’t navigate?  The BBQ held by the Hunter Valley team after the exercise was much appreciated by the hungry bunch and the BBQ trailer was indeed christened, finally.  Thanks Nick, Donna and Sarah.

In the evening we had a session by Ian and Brad from Australian Super on the best ways to make a nest egg for retirement and the best ways to stay out of trouble with banks and other financial institutions.  This session was very well received and noted by all who participated.

Day 3:

David kicked off Day 3 with a quick review of the past two days and introduced Ian Hutchinson from Life by Design as having a message on how to “design our lives for a better future”.  Brad, MIGAS Central Coast Team Leader, joined in on these sessions and Ian started by getting the group on their feet to participate in a few team exercises on thinking outside the square.  After this he went on to explain some strategies on how to set our future goals and not to live in the present only.  He went on to help the participants to see the possible obstacles ahead of them and show how these can be part of our growth to create the people we will become.  After lunch, it was a time to look at our thinking and how it can stifle the way we perceive life and the simple steps we can take to produce a better out-look.

Donna (MIGAS NSW State Manager), Matt (MIGAS Business Development Manager), Nick (MIGAS Hunter Valley Team Leader), Carol (MIGAS HV HRDO) and Natasha (MIGAS Sydney Team Leader) sat in on the session after lunch, so three teams were formed to recap for them the sessions they missed before they participated in the last two sessions.  It was fantastic to hear the content that was remembered by the participants.  They had retained an immense amount of what the program was about which and helped in the preparation for the session ahead.  Ian started the next session and the “next five years” were pondered and where they would like to be, if we consider life had been good to us, and discussed the possible obstacles we would come across and how these could be managed even though not anticipated.

The final session was wrapped up at the end of afternoon tea.  It consisted of some feedback from individuals and groups around what was blocking them from setting and /or achieving their goals.  It was evident that a number of participants were really re-evaluating their life and work choices.

David finished by thanking the guest speakers for their input into the apprentices’ and trainees’ lives and asking the participants to fill in the final feedback sheet.

Participation Certificates were handed out to all the apprentices and trainees and many of the participants hung around for a coke or a beer at the end of the program to further discuss what they had learned and how their lives will be improved or changed by the program.

Overall, the program was a huge success and a great addition to our company’s tool box of things we do when we are “making a difference” in the lives of young people.  The next program will run from the 18^th to the 20^th May in Brisbane.

Press Release

Haden Apprentice Challenge targets regional skills development

• Top 18 Haden apprentices from across Australia vie for Apprentice of the Year in Rockhampton challenge
• Haden, MIGAS, Rockhampton TAFE and The Rockhampton Grammar School join forces to test and improve apprentice training
• Growing education and industry partnerships to benefit regional employment and training opportunities

Sydney, Australia – 28^th May, 2010

The Top 18 Haden air conditioning and refrigeration apprentices from around Australia will descend on Rockhampton TAFE June 16^th and 17^th to participate in the Haden / MIGAS Apprentice Challenge.

The challenge, involving local air conditioning company Haden Engineering, MIGAS Apprentices and Trainees, Rockhampton TAFE and The Rockhampton Grammar School, is the latest example of what can be achieved for youth in regional areas when the private sector works closely with educational institutions.

The brainchild of Chris Lovell, Haden’s Rockhampton Branch Manager and Stuart MacDonald of MIGAS Apprentices and Trainees, the Challenge aims to pitch 2nd, 3rd and 4th year apprentices against each other in a test of theoretical and practical expertise.

Chris is a long time supporter of promoting apprenticeships to regional youth as a great career option and developing his apprentices into first class technicians. He has nurtured close links with industry and training bodies to ensure his apprentices develop the technical skills and problem solving abilities they will need on the job.

“As a company, we need to support our young apprentices and show them that we value their commitment to working, and studying, hard,” explains Chris. “This challenge will test not only the capabilities of the individual technicians, but also the training and development that is provided through the branches and their local TAFE colleges, and I am quite confident that the Rocky apprentices will be at the top of the game”.

Haden and MIGAS were instrumental in lobbying for Rockhampton TAFE to introduce the Refrigeration skills course. Prior to this, Haden technicians had to spend hours on the road travelling to the nearest TAFE that offered the course.

“MIGAS work hard on developing relationships with the local industry and training bodies” explained Stuart MacDonald. “Our aim is to support the youth of Australia’s regional areas with employment and training opportunities.”

 “Apprentices are our future and we need to ensure their skill levels are high and they stay with our company,” Chris explained, “but being a local branch staffed with local people, we think it is equally important to work with the community to develop educational pathways”. Haden Engineering hosts an increasing number of school based apprentices from The Rockhampton Grammar School each year and has invited a number of students to attend the Challenge to see how exciting an apprenticeship can really be.

- ENDS -

For further information please contact:

Jessica Young
Marketing Officer
jyoung@migas.com.au
07 3868 1815

MIGAS Apprentices & Trainees 

MIGAS Apprentices & Trainees is a leading Group Training Organisation that hosts apprentices, trainees and school-based employees in hundreds of businesses across the entire East coast of Australia.  MIGAS specialises in the Manufacturing, Engineering, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning, Electrical, Automotive, and Construction industries, as well as commercial fields including Business Administration, Warehousing, and Retail.

MIGAS – Making a difference. 

For further information on MIGAS Apprentices & Trainees, please visit www.migas.com.au or call 1300 4 MIGAS (1300 4 64427).