First VET/WPL Coordinator Industry Tour!

Tuesday, 11 March 2025 – The StudentConnect project’s focus is to provide more opportunities for students to connect with local industries and businesses with a goal of helping young people to learn about local opportunities as well as find careers that inspire and motivate them.

To assist with this, we have partnered with Industry supporters of the project, to inform VET and Workplace Learning Coordinators through tours of industries and provide the opportunity to ask questions about career pathways, traineeships and apprenticeships. This information can then be passed on to students to assist them with making decisions on learning pathways.

The first tour kicked off at Wespine, the largest softwood sawmill in Western Australia! Employing over 220 people, Wespine has been a member of the Bunbury Geographe Economic Alliance for over 20 years, and we are proud of their strong focus on sustainability, and their caring, people-first approach to employees.

The tour, which was guided by the shift supervisor and the superintendent, was attended by representatives from 7 local schools and included a walk through the green mill and dry mill, stopping at various points in the plants to see the different processes involved in creating a finished product. The group then enjoyed a Q & A with the HR manager around career pathways for students, as well as current job opportunities. Wespine offers a wide range of careers including wood machinists, saw doctors, IT, mechanical and electrical engineering, administration, finance and more! Wespine also provides training opportunities for employees to upskill and cross train in several areas in the plant, thus creating a diverse and multi skilled team.

On behalf of the group, I would like to thank Wespine for making the time to host us and I hope that this initiative will provide more career opportunities for local students. – Faye Nunn, Project Coordinator.