Leigh Pinkerton is a first year Mechanical Fitter apprentice working for Hunter-V-Tec and is leased out to Centennial Coal. He shares what his job involves as he repairs machinery underground.

Leigh takes us through the practical skills he is learning to work as a Mechanical Fitter in the underground coal mines.

Leigh talks about the good job security working for the coal mines and talks how his skills can be applied to other industries.

He chats about how and why he got into mining.

About Hunter-V-Tec:

Hunter Valley Training Company (HVTC) is a group training company. It was founded in 1981.

They currently provide courses in Metal Fabrication, Fitting and Machining, Electrical, Power Linesman and Plant Mechanics as well as courses in electrotechnology.

Hunter-V-Tec (a division of the Hunter Valley Training Company), is located at Maitland, NSW.

About Centennial Coal:
Centennial Coal was established in 1989.

It is a major fuel supplier to the New South Wales energy industry, fuelling approximately 47% of the State’s coal-fired electricity.

Centennial sells approximately a third of its coal into the export market. Coal is exported through ports at Newcastle and Port Kembla in NSW. Customers include power stations and steel mills in Japan, Korea, India, Europe and South America.

Centennial is the largest independent coal company in Australia in terms of production and has 12 operating coal mines in NSW, making it one of the largest underground coal producers in NSW.