Award winning employer mentors GC tradies in Cambodia
Dale Hobley is a Gold Coast employer with a mission to give back to the industry that’s supported him throughout his working career. The highly awarded builder – he has won 6 prestigious building awards in the last 8 years – is joining a team of 50 school based apprentices, staff and employers from the Australian Industry Trade College (AITC), to complete building projects and to offer services to disadvantaged families in the Siem Reap area in Northern Cambodia.
“Being involved in the project in Cambodia is about stepping out of my comfort zone and going to a third world country to mentor these talented apprentices from the AITC” Dale says.
Dale, who started his career as a carpentry apprentice has been involved with the AITC right from the beginning of the College in 2008 where he fitted out the first classrooms.
Dale said that even though it’s a busy time of the year for his company, he never hesitated when he was asked to mentor the young apprentices in a foreign location. “I appreciate the opportunity I was given as a first year apprentice which has allowed me to build my company and it’s the right time for me to give the same opportunity to this generation of keen apprentices” the Masterbuilder Awarded builder said.
In 2013 the AITC took a group of staff and young people to Cambodia to work with the staff of a local charity called New Hope. This charity, with the support of large international service groups and charities including Rotary International, undertook building a rice feeding station and paving a women’s refuge. Following the success of this project, the AITC team who have raised $120,000 in cash and collected nearly 500 kg of donations to take with them, is returning to Cambodia on 26 September.
“During their 14 day trip, the team will extend the rice shelter built by the College on their last trip, do repairs on shelters of some of Siem Reap’s poorest residents, work in the school, train young women in basic hairdressing and build a shelter over a new water filtration system”. Mark Hands, AITC CEO explained.
The AITC provides both senior education and an employment outcome for technically talented young people and has successfully found employment for over 1100 young people throughout Queensland and Australia over the last 7 years.
Written by Lisa Bowtell.
