Hutchinson Builders is Queensland’s largest privately owned construction company, employing more than 1200 people including 150 Australian Apprentices and cadets.
Its commitment to nationally recognised training was rewarded in 2011 with the company taking out the Employer of the Year title.
Hutchinson Builders’ National Training Manager, Alan Waldron, reflects on the company’s success at the 2011 Australian Training Awards.
“It was an exhilarating feeling to win a national award and was a massive vote of confidence from our industry peers that we were on the right track.
“Winning gave our workforce development team a spring in their step after working hard over a number of years to create and implement a program that many said could not be achieved. It also sent a message to all our staff that our training programs were something to be proud of,” Alan said.
Hutchinson Builders believes that one of the fundamental keys to achieving and sustaining high levels of motivation within its workforce is a comprehensive and committed approach to the design and implementation of professional and personal development programs.
“At Hutchinson our whole training program is about valuing our employees and lifting their skills so that we can lift the capacity and capability of the company,” Alan said.
Hutchinson Builders is particularly proud of its implementation of the Gold Coast School of Construction, an in-house pre-apprenticeship program developed in partnership with the Queensland Government and Construction Skills Queensland providing dynamic industry-based training to interested school students and post school graduates on real Hutchinson Builders construction sites.
“Hutchies believes that the only way to address the critical cancellation rates in the industry is to ensure that graduates have experienced real-time work experience conditions so that they are fully aware of what their chosen career entails both good and bad,” Alan said.
Alan believes the Australian Training Awards are an important recognition process for large employers in Australia.
“If businesses are doing innovative things in the training environment; if they want to rub shoulders with others of like minds, then they can’t afford not to at least nominate and go through the judging process of the Australian Training Awards. The process alone raises a company’s capability as it forces it to review everything it does.
“the benefits from the awards are really immeasurable as we have found that the kudos has helped us in so many ways. the fact that we highlight our success in every tender we submit, for example, has had an impact on our clients who realise this is not Hutchies self- promoting, but our peers saying we have been independently reviewed and judged to be the best,” Alan said.