Blue Mountains City Council is welcoming nine new Cadets, Apprentices and Trainees (CATs) to its workforce.
These new employees are enrolled in studies at a range of universities and TAFEs and are working across fields as diverse as civil construction, environmental science, engineering, strategic accounting, business administration and signwriting.
Cadetships, Apprenticeships and Traineeships are jobs that combine work and structured training, making them a great way to start a career. CATs gain valuable on-the-job experience and skills training while earning a weekly wage.
William Goodwin, of Faulconbridge, is one of Council's new Environmental Healthy Waterways cadets and will be joined by Alan Davies, who starts work later this month. William is studying a Bachelor of Natural Science (Environmental Management) at Western Sydney University and said he is looking forward to using his cadetship to make a difference to his home and community.
"The Healthy Waterways team does fantastic work - ranging from finding out where it's safe to swim, to heading out to schools and helping kids discover the natural wonders around them. I hope to support everything that's currently underway and find some new ways to contribute too."
The Healthy Waterways team won a LGNSW Award for Environmental Excellence in 2021 in the Environmental Education category, with a Highly Commended for the 'Connect with Nature' program.
The CATs program benefits employees, Council and the local community. CATs boost their skills by working in a hands-on environment, while gaining national recognised qualifications and valuable industry experiences. Council grows its skills base within teams, and increases mentoring opportunities for supervisors and colleagues. The community also benefits from local employment opportunities.
Mr. Goodwin encourages everyone considering applying for a position through the CATs program in the future, to go for it: "A cadetship is an absolutely fantastic opportunity. You can take what you've learned at TAFE or Uni and put it straight into practice, and by the same token you can use the knowledge and skills from your work to assist with your studies.
"The application process in itself is a valuable learning opportunity. It might be the first time you ever apply for a position in your field. Even if you don't get the job, you still get practice and feedback which you can use to prepare for future applications."
More information about BMCC's CATs program can be found at bmcc.nsw.gov.au/trainees
Image: Left to Right - Gabrielle Amer is Council's new apprentice sign writer and Finn Koch and Laura Ticehurst are Council's new Civil Construction apprentices. Faulconbridge's William Goodwin is undertaking an Environmental Science cadetship with Council.
