A group of young Aboriginal residents are one step closer to working on the Snowy 2.0 project after completing a pre-employment program in Wagga.
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Six of the participants gathered for a graduation ceremony at Wagga Beach on Wednesday with some having to miss out due to work commitments, including with the city's growing solar industry.
One program participant has already secured employment on the Snowy 2.0 project, working at the segment factory in Cooma.
Program graduate Tallarna Parkhurst, aged 19 from Cootamundra, said she joined the program because she wanted to work in the construction of the project, which will expand hydroelectric generation in the Snowy Mountains.
"We did working at heights training, we did a confined spaces ticket as well, we built a cubby house," she said.
"The next step is going to Ironbark Training to get tickets in forklifts and backhoes and civil construction tickets."
In other news
Snowy Hydro and its principal contractor, Future Generation JV, have been working with multiple agencies to help establish employment opportunities for Indigenous workers in the region and to upskill unemployed people.
Wiradjuri elder Cheryl Penrith performed a Welcome to Country for the ceremony and told the graduates that they might look back at the day as a changing point in their lives.
"We have got an enormous amount of opportunities coming in to Wagga and I think this is the time to grab them," she said.
"Have a think about what you are doing today and how it will affect your grandkids and their grandkids."
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