Over the last few years ABBTF has been refining its pre trade programs and now has a program that employers and GTO’s are lining up to source candidates from. The industry-endorsed Work Ready Program or WRP has been a great success over the last few years.

Northside bricklayer Brad Kruger of Kruger Developments Pty Ltd and Gold Coast Bricklayer Glen Abernethy from Precise Masonry have both endorsed the WRP program. Both employers have taken on one Apprentice through the program and are lining up again to take another. Glen said he would now only employ apprentices who have gone through the WRP.
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Our Qld Field rep, Brian Munns, headed out to the south side of Brisbane to catch up onsite with a local employer, Dean Lynch (DML Bricklaying) to see how his apprentice, Chloe Buck, was fairing. It was all go and all positive!

Brian had met Chloe at the Gold Coast TAFE Expo last year; she was interested to pursue an apprenticeship in bricklaying as she had quite a bit of experience hands on with the trade since she was six years old – she used to help her Grandfather in bricklaying.
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ABBTF and Masonry Contractors Australia (MCA) have been out and about holding information roadshows in North and Central Qld with more to come on the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Toowoomba in the near future.

These roadshows are to give the industry an insight into the services provided by ABBTF and MCA and the benefits these two organisations bring to the industry. ABBTF and MCA invite you to come along and join us to hear what could be very beneficial to your business and to have your industry questions answered.
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The Fair Work Commission recently handed down the highly anticipated ruling to determine how much the existing minimum wage would increase for the next 12 months. The result is that the Fair Work Commission has announced a 2.4% increase in the minimum wage, which will flow on to bricklaying apprentices under the Modern Award, applicable for the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July, 2016.

Employers need do nothing at this point. It takes the Fair Work Commission 2 – 3 weeks to update the pay rates in each award. ABBTF will provide full details of the new rate at our ‘Become a Bricklayer’ and ‘ABBTF’ websites as soon as possible following the Fair Work announcement on actual rate changes.

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