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PERENTI company Barminco has been named Australia’s Large Employer of the Year at the National Australian Training Awards in Brisbane.
Barminco chief executive officer Paul Muller said it was an honour to be win the award, which recognises a company focused on upskilling employees.
“Our vision is to be the world’s leading hard rock underground mining service provider, and our people are at the core of that vision,” Mr Muller said.
“We are aiming to significantly increase the size of our business in the next five years in what is a highly competitive labour market and our focus is firmly on training and our integrated people strategy.
“It is wonderful to be recognised nationally for our work in this area.”
Barminco was established in Coolgardie, WA, 30 years ago with just 30 employees; today it has 3900 employees across 22 projects in eight countries and four continents.
Key elements of Barminco’s training strategy are the Barminco Training Centres, the first of which has just opened in its Hazelmere head office in WA, and a second facility being replicated on a larger scale in Botswana that is due to open shortly.
Barminco general manager for safety and people, Patrick Bourke, said the unique facilities replicated what it was like to be underground.
“There is a focus on operational skills and they utilise technology to offer customised virtual reality scenarios for all the different underground jobs,” he said.
a“This is a game- changer for us as it ensures new employees go to site with a much better understanding of the underground environment so they are safer and can operate more efficiently.
“Barminco’s focus on training people extends to several other programs, including its successful apprenticeship program that has been running for more than 20 years and its unique leadership program designed to provide career progression for employees, a key retention tool to develop and progress staff into management roles.”
Mr Bourke said Barminco’s rapid growth was down to the people the company employed and therefore investment in their training was essential.
“We are extremely proud of our innovative training programs and it has made an enormous difference to our business,” he said.
Barminco was one of three named finalists for the 2019 Australian Training Award – Large Employer of the Year, following a win for the same category at the WA Awards in September.