Latest news with #apprentice
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Australian company fined $400,000 after young apprentice was burned alive in shocking explosion
A Queensland company has been fined $400,000 and slammed for not seeing the 'obvious' risks that led to the death of an apprentice in a horrific explosion. Kyah McDonald, 21, died when he was ordered to de‑rim a metal drum in a bin room filled with flammable vapours at a Gold Coast Isuzu dealership in October 2022. The apprentice diesel motor mechanic suffered burns to 90 per cent of his body in the fireball and was rushed by paramedics to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. He died later that day. Three other workers were injured. James Frizelle's Automotive Groupin Arundel was charged with failing to comply with its primary health and safety duty after the incident. The business, which sold and serviced new and used Isuzu trucks and parts, was sentenced over Kyah's death in Southport Magistrates Court after pleading guilty, the Courier-Mail reported. In sentencing, Acting Magistrate Sarah Thompson said the risk was 'obvious' and 'foreseeable', and the steps to prevent the explosion were not complex. The business also failed to provide adequate training and supervision, correctly store and label flammable liquids, or post safety signage in the areas where combustible liquids were stored. The business has since overhauled its safety practices, but Ms Thompson said those same 'simple' and 'not burdensome' measures could have easily been done before Kyah's death. In a tribute on the Queensland Workers Memorial to fatal workplace tragedies, his family said healing from the tragedy and heartbreak had been an extremely raw and unbearably painful journey that continued every single day. 'There are so many tears, yet we look for ways to fill the emptiness and to find the same joy Kyah was always able to find in other peoples' success and happiness,' they said. 'He was someone that people would gravitate towards. His energy was calming and playful. Younger children would attach themselves and play with him for hours. Animals would be trusting of him. 'Adults would praise him and girls would dote on him.' In 2016 Kyah started a started a school based apprenticeship and worked for his father's building company as an apprentice carpenter and was fully qualified in 2021. A passionate car enthusiast he started his new apprenticeship at Isuzu in May 2022, just five months before his tragic death.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Barber training centre in Auckland CBD offering free trims
Whether you're after a fade, slick back, perm or a buzz cut look no further - a barber training centre in the Auckland CBD is offering free trims. If you don't mind yours being the first hair the apprentice barber has ever cut, that is. Mr Barber, an NZQA approved and registered training centre, is the only Barber-specific training centre in Aotearoa. Barbers-in-training are chucked straight into the deep end, practising on real people from day one. Bella Craig reports. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tradie apprentice on $100,000 reveals reality of high-paying training: 'High risk'
An apprentice tradie has shared how she is earning $100,000 a year in her second year on the job. Apprentices often have to slog it out with lower wages while they are still learning, but there are some ways to get around this. The woman was stopped in the street in the Brisbane CBD and revealed she was an apprentice electrician for Queensland Rail. She revealed there were a few factors that contributed to her lucrative wage. 'We do a rotational roster, so two weeks of day shift, a week of night shift. The night shift is where you make a lot of your money and then overtime as well if you want,' she told the job app Getahead. RELATED Tradie reveals trick to buying home and saving $120,000 Couple's side hustle amid double redundancy secures $13 million fortune Centrelink age pension changes coming into effect from July 1 The woman said she was doing high-voltage work, which also paid higher wages. 'So I'm in substations, which you also earn a bit more because it's high-risk work I guess you could say,' she said. The woman said she enjoyed working for the government as it meant she got 'a lot of freedom' compared to a private company. '[It's] not super busy, you don't get run into the ground like a lot of other domestic sparkies out there,' she woman shared she was the only female working in her job at the moment, after one other female was injured and another did not get a job after her apprenticeship. She said it could be 'tricky to juggle' her TAFE course at the same time as working, but just meant she had to 'put in extra study'. While a job isn't guaranteed at the end of your apprenticeship, she said you could still likely get a job at the end of it. 'Your apprenticeship's like a four-year interview and show them that you're keen and you'll likely get a job and they'll make a position for you,' she said. At $100,000 a year, the woman's apprentice wage is much higher than the average. Many people were surprised by her high salary, with other apprentices sharing their wages by way of comparison. 'I'm second year and get 39k,' one wrote. 'I'm 3rd year and get 48k,' another said. Others pointed out that her higher salary was due to her doing night shift and roster work. According to the Electrical Trades Union, junior second-year sparkies typically earn $18.84 an hour if they have completed year 12. That works out to $715.77 a week or $32,220 a year. Overtime rates are higher at $28.26 an hour for the first two hours then $37.68 after that, while Sunday rates are $37.68 an hour and public holiday rates are $47.10 an hour. The union noted these were the legal bare minimum wages. Rates for workers under Union Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs) can be significantly higher than those under the Award. The government has promised to introduce a $10,000 bonus for apprentices to encourage them to stay in their training. It would be available to trades including bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters and joiners who sign up after July 1. The government is also hoping to get more women into trades, with $45 million pledged to increase advocacy, networking, recruitment and in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
RNZ News
06-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Building apprentices go head to head in Hamilton skills challenge
Jack Mathis has home advantage for the Hamilton event. Photo: Supplied Waikato's Jack Mathis was encouraged by his sister-in-law to enter the New Zealand Certified Builders Apprentice Challenge and, after winning the regional competition, he now has the home advantage at the national finals in Hamilton on Saturday. Nineteen apprentices from across the country are attending the event, after first winning their regional heats in April. The competition is New Zealand's biggest hands-on apprentice competition, but Mathis said he entered mostly for a bit of fun. "It's good to see how I compete, compared to other apprentices from across New Zealand, and see everyone's quality of work." During the regional competition, Mathis had to use detailed plans, given to him in advance, to build a planter box that was judged on workmanship, accuracy, assembly and time management. This weekend, the pressure goes up a notch, with a panel interview, a presentation and a practical skills test that will only be revealed on the day, but Mathis said the practical work didn't scare him. "Standing in front of people is going to be a hard thing, for the presentation, but I'm looking forward to meeting all the other apprentices from around New Zealand." Growing up, Mathis spent weekends and school holidays working as a labourer for his brother, who is a builder. "I always thought I'd be on a dairy farm, but it just became so easy to get a trade under my belt before doing anything," he said. "I'm quite enjoying the trade at the moment, so I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon." Mathis still works for his brother, apprenticing at his South Waikato building company. The national champion will be announced on Saturday evening. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Malay Mail
21-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
High-voltage mission: Young recruits power UK's green energy shift as thousands needed for grid overhaul
EAKRING (UK), May 22 — Perched 45 metres high, young apprentice electricians replace a connection atop a pylon. In the UK, National Grid recruitment is at full power as its electricity network adapts for renewables. As new production sites multiply, particularly for wind and solar power, the privately-run company that owns the high-voltage pylons and cables in England and Wales said it is implementing 'the largest overhaul of the electricity grid in generations'. 'It's quite fun and exciting really,' Becky Hodgson, an overhead lines trainee, enthused at the prospect of 'connecting' the UK's future energy needs. At the National Grid training centre in Eakring, a village in central England, 25-year-old Hodgson unwinds rope from a winch at the foot of a large pylon. To the sound of an engine and pulleys, a suspended walkway rises towards her classmates. National Grid Overhead Line Apprentice Becky Hodgson speaks at the National Grid Training centre in Eakring, central England April 28. — AFP pic Hailing from near Newcastle in northeast England, a region famous for its coal mining heritage, Hodgson is delighted to be part of the nation's new energy chapter. 'It's ticking all the boxes for me,' said the apprentice whose grandfather mined coal, which up until recently was used to fire British power stations. 'From a young age I've always been really into climbing, and adventurous pursuits,' Hodgson, sporting a fluorescent orange vest and blue hard hat, told AFP. 'Massive challenge' With the UK one of the most advanced countries in Europe in terms of renewable energy, National Grid plans to invest £35 billion (US$47 billion) by 2031 to transform its electricity network. The installation of new pylons, often favoured over underground or submarine cables owing to their lower cost, is causing friction among local residents across the country. Faced with growing demand for electricity and the need to source energy where it is produced, 'we need more wires', insisted Zac Richardson, chief engineer at National Grid. National Grid Overhead Line Apprentices train on a electricity pylon at the National Grid training centre in Eakring, central England April 28. — AFP pic The company has seen the number of training days surge 75 per cent over three years, driven largely by growth in staff. 'Will we be able to train enough? It's a massive challenge,' said Richardson. 'There's advanced investment going in, not just here, but with our key contractors as well, to ensure that the workforce is ready.' National Grid estimates that 55,000 new hires will be needed in the coming years, across various trades, both within its own ranks and among its partners and subcontractors. Explosion A siren suddenly sounds in a substation, close to large machines bristling with lightning arresters. Then an explosion — signalling a test of a pyrotechnic circuit breaker, a device that can quickly cut a high-voltage circuit. 'You have to cover your ears automatically... when you work in a substation,' laughed Lara Eken, a graduate substation engineer. The 23-year-old said she has come to learn about the workings of 'a really in-depth technical system', whose number is multiplying with the expansion of the network. Cables extending from the large pylon are lost in the distance — but they lead nowhere. For safety reasons, the training facilities are disconnected from the network. A power line apprenticeship lasts three years. 'Everything crunches around the safety aspect first, so it's baby steps,' training instructor Tom Norris, easily identifiable by his red helmet, told AFP. 'You get them just climbing the tower first' before tackling more complicated tasks like hoisting equipment, he added. Norris said finding recruits is not a problem. 'We're taking on more apprentices than we ever have. We've always got lots of interest on the recruitment day so we're picking from lots and lots of good candidates.' — AFP
