When Bruce and Wendy Hawley took over Welshpool-based geotechnical materials testing company, Western Geotechnics Group, in October 2003, they realised that investing in their employees was going to be a major priority.
When Bruce and Wendy Hawley took over Welshpool-based geotechnical materials testing company, Western Geotechnics Group, in October 2003, they realised that investing in their employees was going to be a major priority.
With the transient nature of the resources industry making skilled staff attraction and retention one of its biggest challenges, the Hawleys took an innovative approach to tackling the state’s labour shortage.
From its head office in Welshpool, as well as laboratory facilities in Kalgoorlie, Karratha and Port Hedland, this fully Western Australian-owned and operated company provides testing services to the civil construction and resources and construction industry, and relies heavily on specialist skilled staff.
Mr Hawley, the group’s managing director, said the poorly paid technical positions were difficult to fill, and with no formal training process for soil technicians either through university or Tafe, finding skilled workers was tougher still.
This also led to the frequent poaching of staff between geotechnical testing companies in order to find skilled and on-the-job-trained staff.
“We realised that we wouldn’t attract the right kind of people if we didn’t pay them the right money,” Mr Hawley said.
“And they won’t stay if there isn’t a career for them,”
The turning point came in mid-2004 with the appointment of Karl Howard as general manager, who spearheaded the company’s movement down the training path.
“Because of the resources boom it was evident that we were going to have to get people in, trained, and of value as quickly as we could,” Mr Howard said.
In conjunction with Central Tafe, the business established a pilot training program under which all training was conducted on-site, with Tafe lecturers relocating to the company’s Welshpool facilities for training sessions.
As with other Tafe courses, each student is required to complete a series of modules to attain certificate or diploma level qualifications.
And with the federal government’s incentive payments to companies to encourage the intake of trainees and apprentices, there are no out-of-pocket expenses for the trainee.
“Because it’s all done onsite, with their generic modules we can actually train them in a direct skill that is relating to our industry. So it’s more focused,” Mr Howard said.
The company has also engaged some of its senior employees in the new program, offering them qualifications through recognition of prior learning, and development courses for senior management.
Mr Howard said the new training system was complemented by the management’s decision to develop a new ‘inclusive’ culture for the company.
“Retaining people in this particular economic climate is difficult; we have a very inclusive approach, and everybody is valued for what they do as part of the team,” he said.
“We provide the opportunity for employees to do some training and be recognised as part of that culture.”
Alongside this culture shift, the management team also updated its workplace, improving conditions, facilities and equipment.
“The company had a lot of antiquated equipment and vehicles. We generally improved everything, from the lunch room to the ablutions,” Mr Howard said.
And while the whole process wasn’t cheap (costs now run into the hundreds of thousands each year), the management team agrees the investment is well worth it.
“It’s a good investment for the business because it means we can get better people, better productivity at the lab level and more constructive input at a supervisory management level,” Mr Howard said.
“If we hadn’t done that, then we wouldn’t have retained people as much as we had, and we wouldn’t be as efficient as we are in a number of areas.”
Now in its second year, the traineeship program involves 30 employees, with the total number of staff growing from 42 at the end of 2003 to 92 staff currently.
The company was recognised for its initiative in September 2006 by being awarded the State Training Board award for an employer of apprentices or trainees, at the 2006 DET Excellence in Training Awards.
