QAL congratulates award winners at annual Apprentice of the Year Awards

Published 9 October 2023

Queensland Alumina Limited (QAL) last week officially welcomed nine first year apprentices into the business and celebrated three outstanding program graduates at the QAL Apprentice of the Year Awards event.

Attended by special guest Gladstone Regional Council; Councillor Chris Cameron, the annual event welcomes new apprentices to QAL and recognises the top-performing process trainee and apprentice graduates across Electrical and Instrumentation (E&I) and Mechanical trade disciplines.

All nine 2023 first-year apprentices were also gifted a new, full-equipped toolbox and study texts as a formal welcome.

QAL acting general manager, Trent Scherer was extremely proud to welcome the new apprentices and acknowledge the award winners for 2023: Process Trainee of the Year Kirsten Payne, Mechanical Apprentice of the Year Aidan Dunkovic, and Electrical/Instrumentation Apprentice of the Year Travis Richmond.

“We’re delighted to welcome the next generation of trainees and apprentices into our business, at the same time honouring our top-performing graduating trainee and apprentices for the year,” Trent said.

“Our aim is to develop skilled tradespeople whose practical experience and focus on safety sets themselves up for success as future leaders within QAL or beyond.”

QAL’s longstanding apprenticeship program is highly regarded and offers hands-on, on-the-job training, along with formal qualifications from CQUniversity.

QAL’s annual Apprentice of the Year Awards is an important calendar event that celebrates the talent and career potential within the business.
More than 839 apprenticeships have been completed at QAL since 1968, with an additional 10 apprentices to join the team in 2024. Since the start of 2023, QAL has welcomed 55 trainees and over 149 trainees have completed the program since it began.

QAL acting GM Trent Scherer, Mechanical Apprentice of the Year Aiden Dunkovic, Gladstone Regional Council; Councillor Chris Cameron

QAL acting GM Trent Scherer, E&I Apprentice of the Year Travis Richmond, Gladstone Regional Council; Councillor Chris Cameron

Gladstone Regional Council; Councillor Chris Cameron and Process Trainee of the Year Kirsten Payne

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