OREANDA-NEWS. September 18, 2014. For BMA’s Hay Point First Year Electrical Apprentice, Scot Bailey, the decision to join BMA may have had something to do with keeping a family tradition alive.

Scot, who lives in Sarina and attended Sarina State High School, is one of 36 new local apprentices across a range of trade areas to join BMA this year. This year BMA also employed 23 new trainees from local communities and 52 graduates across a range of disciplines.

When Scot started work at Hay Point in January, he joined three other family members with a connection with the operation. Scot’s father Ross is an operator, his brother Jake is in 4th year of his electrical apprenticeship at site and his other brother Luke completed an electrical apprenticeship at Hay Point Coal Terminal last year.

After having the opportunity to experience what life at the port offered during work experience, Scot applied for an apprenticeship through the annual BMA apprenticeship intake.

Scot said BMA was a well renowned local employer in the community and he was keen to join the company because BMA provided good career prospects and a wide range of diverse opportunities.

Scot, who has an interest in both the practical and theoretical side of how things work, is combining his trade with an engineering degree and hopes to work towards a management role in mining or establishing his own engineering business into the future.

Despite a busy work load through combining work and tertiary study, Scot said he was enjoying his new role.

“I have enjoyed being able to take the electrical knowledge I have learnt and seeing how it is applied in the field.

“Every day is different and I am accomplishing new goals, learning and increasing my practical skills and knowledge every day,” he said.

Scot has also found a new appreciation for safety, in particular the importance of stopping and thinking about the possible hazards of doing a job before you start.

“This way of thinking has been subtly applied to my everyday life. The quickest way is usually not the safest way and we all need to take responsibility for our actions,” he said.

Hay Point Coal Terminal General Manager Peter Hanrahan said that currently there were 233 Central Queensland families whose children are employed by BMA as apprentices and a further 70 families who children have traineeships at BMA’s operations.

“These young people who have grown up and gone to school in the area have been given the opportunity to learn and develop their careers in one of the most interesting industry sectors,” he said.