With the family-owned company securing contracts at Greater Shepparton Secondary College and the Mooroopna Integrated Early Learning Centre, Watters Electrical has been able to hire 25 additional staff – the majority being apprentice electricians.
Twelve of the new staff are fully qualified Class A electricians and 13 are new apprentices, securing employment during the economic downturn caused by COVID-19. The projects have also allowed the retention of an additional 15 workers.
Taking particular pride in the college development is electrician Kahn Sutherland, 25.
“Working on this project has personal significance to a lot of us on-site,” Mr Sutherland said.
“For me, having grown up in Shepparton, attending school at Wanganui Park Secondary College and doing my apprenticeship through Watters, this project is giving me a chance to give back to the community.
“It also feels good knowing that my children will go to school at a place I contributed to build,” he said.
“For a lot of the other workers on-site from all trades, 2022 will see their children attending the new school – so you can imagine the pride they’ll have showing their kids around the school.”
Watters’ general manager Peter Copley echoed Mr Sutherland's sentiments.
“We are pleased to re-invest in a community that has been so supportive of us over past decades,” he said.
For builder Hansen Yuncken and the contractors on-site, the majority of which are local to Greater Shepparton, work has been able to continue unabated by lockdowns.
The college is classed as critical state infrastructure and both the Hawdon St site and the Integrated Early Learning Centre nearing completion in O’Brien St, Mooroopna had rigorous COVID-safe plans to manage and monitor risk.
“These projects are not only providing job security and career paths for members of our community, but they are also advancing education facilities, resources and outcomes for our students now and for years to come,” Mr Copley said.
Tobi Kennedy, Watters’ project manager, said the jobs were in an essential industry for many VCE graduates and mature-age apprentices in the wider community.
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