Ernabella community were keen for a stage to be built for their sporting and music events.
As Skill Hire’s ongoing focus to community engagement, staff attend community council meetings on a regular basis. During the Ernabella council meeting just prior to the Far North West Sport League grand final, council members requested a new stage for the Ernabella oval. For the past three years the grand final had been held in Ernabella, so the community felt a dedicated presentation area would be useful. Also a stage would be handy during the sports carnivals and an area for ‘Battle of the Bands’.
A short time frame to work towards
Our team was given a short timeline which was a challenge in itself. The construction of this stage took some time and included the following steps:
- Project template to begin the work and list all materials and tools required
- Align pre-fabricated panels to the existing building at the oval
- Dig and concrete 20x square posts to secure the frame
- Weld the frame to each post
- Measure and cut posts to the correct height
- Measure and cut ply board to fit as stage flooring
- Screw ply boards to the steel frame
- Painting
The team enjoyed working together
Over the duration of the project there were 24 CDP participants involved. There was always good vibes between the participants and Aaron our Supervisor and Dennis our 2IC, working well together as a team and having a laugh at the same time. Some of the CDP participants actually play footy in the FWNSL teams, so this was an extra incentive.
Safety training paid off
All the participants were happy working on this project, and the progress made each day inspired them for the next day. They had all completed WHS training previously and were keen to practice their skills.
The job seekers took charge of the site works to ensure all safety requirements were followed aligning with WHS policies. Before each new activity began, all risks were discussed. Everyone understood that the work site needed to be safe whilst they were at work as well as after hours.
The activities took a couple of weeks. With measuring, levelling, cutting using grinders and welders there could be sparks, so there was equipment danger plus danger in general to anyone in the vicinity. Safe operating procedures had been taught to them previously and they were diligent and keen to ensure the whole community was kept safe. As the work site was in a public area, the CDP participants fenced off their worksite when they weren’t there. At the end of each day they cleaned up the site to take responsibility for public safety.
Overcoming worksite challenges
Our supervisors were resourceful to keep the team motivated at all times. They overcame this challenge by allocating individual tasks to each job seeker to make sure everyone had something to do at all times. This was a big job for this team and our supervisors decided it was important to allocate tasks, to guarantee each team member could feel the satisfaction of their contribution to the final result.
An urgent project delivered on time
The benefit of having a team of CDP participants who had previous experience with the materials used, concrete/gravel mix, steel posts, hand tools and prefabricated panels, meant the team was able to deliver this project on time.
A community dream comes true
The Ernabella Community told us they had wanted this stage for quite a while.
The job seekers said they felt proud to be able to complete the requested activity in time for the Ernabella footy grand final and were happy to be able to show off the work to the other people who attended from other APY Lands communities. Grand finals and sports carnivals attract a couple of hundred people from across the APY Lands. Before the stage was built, presentations were delivered either on the ground or on the back of a truck.
Another one of our CDP success stories …
