Townsville Tech students build outside the square

[greenbuild]

Townsville Bulletin: January 25th, 2013
Also see attached for printable .pdf.

TOWNSVILLE technical college Tec-NQ is building its own homes. The trades-based college identified the opportunity as an innovative way of providing training and placement for its apprentices at a time when construction activity has slowed.
"We aren't getting into the house-building business but as the construction market declined so too have the opportunities for apprentices," the college's business development manager Joe Hoolahan said.
"We decided to think outside the brick and block, so to speak, and develop real training solutions to meet the region's current and future employment and skills needs."
The college gained the status of a group training organisation in 2011, giving it the ability to employ students as apprentices.
With the help of private companies, including the Del Mondo Property Group and 9point9 Architects, Tec-NQ designed four townhouses which are being built on blocks it purchased in The Village, a State Government Urban Land Development Authority residential development at Oonoonba.
Mr Hoolahan hoped the project would take pressure off the construction industry providing apprenticeship places, as well as provide stimulus for work.
Companies including Smedley Plumbing, Mark Graham Electrical, Jeff Terry Constructions and Total Fab have been involved in the project.
"We are confident this could be the game changer that industry has been looking for," Mr Hoolahan said.
"We'll be training our apprentices using the newest materials and techniques for a truly sustainable building industry."
The project will employ 24 students.
Work on the townhouses began last year, with the first two townhouses due to be finished around Easter.
"The townhouses will be sold and hopefully the profits will go into the next project," he said.
The college has about 220 students enrolled so far this year.

The college gained the status of a group training organisation in 2011, giving it the ability to employ students as apprentices.
With the help of private companies, including the Del Mondo Property Group and 9point9 Architects, Tec-NQ designed four townhouses which are being built on blocks it purchased in The Village, a State Government Urban Land Development Authority residential development at Oonoonba.
for more details: LINK HERE
Mr Hoolahan hoped the project would take pressure off the construction industry providing apprenticeship places, as well as provide stimulus for work.
Companies including Smedley Plumbing, Mark Graham Electrical, Jeff Terry Constructions and Total Fab have been involved in the project.
"We are confident this could be the game changer that industry has been looking for," Mr Hoolahan said.
"We'll be training our apprentices using the newest materials and techniques for a truly sustainable building industry."
The project will employ 24 students.
Work on the townhouses began last year, with the first two townhouses due to be finished around Easter.
"The townhouses will be sold and hopefully the profits will go into the next project," he said.
The college has about 220 students enrolled so far this year.

More about the project

Tec-NQ, along with project partners Del Mondo Property and 9.9 Architects, has identified a unique opportunity to address many of the issues that face us as a community, as a nation and as a planet. This initiative combines sustainable building and design with education and training.

Tec-NQ recently purchased two blocks of land in the ‘The Village’, located in the Urban Land Development Authority’s (ULDA) development at Oonoonba and has begun to build two of four sustainable design homes.

This innovative housing project also heralds a real alternative in housing design with apprentices trained using the newest materials and styles and taught incorporating the most sustainable methods. Providing students with an opportunity to work on a real-time build project also gives Tec-NQ’s apprentices exposure to conditions that cannot be simulated in the classroom or workshop and ensures they are the most up-to-date and worksite ready apprentices in Townsville.

The use of Tec-NQ’s GTO in combination with the building partnerships that we are developing is a “game changer”. It begins a process of resilience from the ebb and flow of our economy and increases employment options for the youth of the Townsville area.

It will also provide a large number of skilled workers into the construction industry and therefore play its part in reducing the skills shortage we are expecting to happen.

Ian McGown Email: ian@samfordhomes.com.au
Samford Homes Pty. Ltd.
0487 263 673
www.samfordhomes.com.au