We will meet with Michael Burt the general manager of Landcom and he will have a chat about the project Youthbuild, chatting about how young people can get involved and show us were it all takes place. 

Youthbuild is an initiative of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in which young people learn and gain practical experience in the building industry while still at secondary school. 

SkillsOne visits One Minto, the community being built by Landcom, in partnership with Housing NSW and Campbelltown City Council in the Western Suburbs. 

About Landcom and HIA Youthbuild at Minto:

Youthbuild is an initiative of the Housing Industry Association (HIA) in which young people learn and gain practical experience in the building industry while still at secondary school. Landcom is seeking to promote and assist the program in its projects, in particular where it partners with builders. 

Landcom is in a position to provide support to the Youthbuild program by: 

·      Encouraging builder partners to provide practical experience opportunities within Landcom developments; 

·      Allowing access to Landcom developments and building sites for exposure to real projects; 

·      Supporting the program with personnel at presentations, and Rewarding sponsorship and assistance with resourcing. 

Landcom in partnership with HIA Youthbuild, have identified Sarah Redfern High School at Minto as a suitable school to deliver this initiative. The program fosters closer links between this school and the local residential building industry community in a range of ways to meet local needs. 

This can range from short term industry placements, to give a taste of what the industry is like, through to more formal school based vocational training programs including school based apprenticeships. Landcom has also introduced The Landcom Scholarship program at Sarah Redfern High School which will cover the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) and initial safety training in the industry for ten students. 

Examples of Youthbuild activities with Sarah Redfern High School students include: 

·      Weekly site visits for students in years 10,11 and 12

·      Students have attended HIA Building Careers seminar at the Sydney Exhibition Centre. 

·      Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation have undertaken ‘step out programs’ 

·      HIA and Landcom gave a presentation to 30 students from Sarah Redfern High in late 2007, outlining both the Youthbuild program and Minto Renewal Project. Questions from the students were also answered.

·      Students participated in an industry visit to the site in December. This comprised of a safety induction and a tour of TRN Group’s civil works, followed by Wisdom Homes outlining the project home construction process.

·      Sarah Redfern High School students completed safety induction course (Green card) on school premises in February 2008        

Michael Burt BE, MIE Aust, CPEng, MBA GENERAL MANAGER DEVELOPMENT 

Michael manages Landcom’s urban development projects in Sydney’s south west, Illawarra and a project at Renwick in the southern highlands. He has 30 years experience spread across the construction industry, local government and property development.