Students build their options

By Shaun Inguanzo
STUDENTS from across Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia were given an eye-opening look at building and construction jobs thanks to a tour coordinated by South East Local Learning and Employment Network (SELLEN).
The Building and Construction Tour Days on Tuesday, 29 May and Thursday, 31 May took place at the Lakeside housing estate in Pakenham, with help from developer Delfin.
About 20 students on each tour with an interest in a building or construction career visited a house at lock-up stage to speak with builders and apprentices about the industry they planned to enter.
A tour of the house and explanation of its various stages of construction were provided by builder Porter Davis Homes.
The day was also a chance to see how the Australian Industry Group (AI Group) helps to link builders with the SELLEN network of schools and other educators.
AI Group regional industry careers advisor Peter Morris said there were 250 core jobs in construction – a far greater number than the 10 or 15 that students had predicted.
Mr Morris said the tour would open students’ eyes to the possibility that construction trades were not limited to plumbing, electrical work and carpentry.
He said other jobs such as fitting air-conditioning, landscaping, and various streams of carpentry were not only enjoyable, but profitable pursuits.
Delfin community development officer Karina Dooley told students how building an estate took many years.
The first stage was planning and design, she said, followed by actual building of homes, and retail and community service precincts, and now a community development phase.
First-year apprentices carpenter Scott Lawrence and bricklayer Daniel Petriw spoke to the students about how having the right attitude and commitment was essential to a construction trade.
The day ended with a sausage sizzle provided by Lakeside residents.