News - She's got her boots on!

• Dugald River Construction Camp
• Construction ramps up at Phosphate..
• Safety Innovation Award
• She's got her boots on!
• Rob Schroedter named Queensland Apprentice of the Year
• Dawsons hosts PNG Students
• Jobless rate drops after Cairns expo
• Dawsons Expanding at GEMCO
• Dawsons Construction Crew Find Their Pioneering Spirit
• Cannington Contract Win
• No such thing as an impossible cut

July 2011

When Robyn VanRooye accepted the role of Training Manager with Dawsons Group of Companies, she was comfortable that her 12 years in Vocational Training - with Queensland Apprenticeship Services and CRGT - would stand her in good stead to make a smooth transition to the mining industry. That was the theory anyway..........

The first year of her new role has proved to be a steep learning curve, taken at breakneck speed, and she is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon. "It's been the biggest year of my professional life," laughs Robyn, "just getting my head around the sheer magnitude of the industry and the very specific service and supply requirements has provided me with hours of light reading."

The mining industry has very specific requirements for personnel - whether they are new entrants to the industry, or taking on a job at a new site. There are mandatory standards of training and inductions required to ensure anyone working on a mine site is appropriately skilled and equipped with a high level of safety training. As Robyn explains, "Prior to Dawsons Training offering scheduled courses, local companies would either have to send their employees to Townsville, or engage a trainer to travel to Cairns and deliver training. Options for local residents trying to upskill and enter the mining industry were not available, as there were no public courses on offer."

In an ambitious expansion, Dawsons Training has grown from one classroom to three in the past twelve months, with weekly scheduled deliveries in safety courses, site specific inductions and high risk training and assessment. "Just like any big kid, not only have I been learning heaps, I've also been growing!" says Robyn. Dawsons Group of Companies has invested in developing Dawsons Training, committing to running a calendar of courses, and making it easy for companies and individuals to plan their training in advance.

Having relocated to Cairns 23 years ago to work in hospitality, Robyn's strong service background has remained central to her business ethos. "One thing I have found, is that the mining industry is service driven," says Robyn, "clients are very specific about exactly what they require and how and when it's delivered."

Whilst the mining industry has definitely taken the lion's share of Robyn's training, increasing awareness of employer obligations under the Workplace Health and Safety Act, combined with the impending national harmonisation of WHS has seen a growth of training delivered to other local businesses in a diverse range of industries. Demonstrating her "whatever it takes" attitude to her job, Robyn recently put up her hand to personally deliver Confined Space Training to a client on a remote 5 star island resort.