Article featured in the Blue Mountains Gazette on 23/12/2020.
Samm McBride had been thinking about changing careers for some time. Whilst the 27-year-old enjoyed being a childcare worker, the money was less than desired, and she was interested in learning a trade.
The Warrimoo resident heard about training and apprentice hire group Productivity Force at a work expo and enrolled in the eight-week bootcamp in Penrith in late 2019. She soon developed an interest in metal fabrication and discovered she loved making, fixing and building things and basically “being handy”. She is now employed as a first-year metal fabrication apprentice.
Ms McBride said she particularly enjoyed the supportive environment at the Productivity Bootcamp. “I feel I gained invaluable life skills in the weekly workshops that covered a broad range of topics ranging from teamwork, motivation, anger management, and to how to deal with problems and difficult people,” she said.
Eighteen pre-apprentices graduated from a special bootcamp developed Productivity Force and its business partner, Productivity Bootcamp, on December 11. They are the first graduates of the newest training facility, at Campbelltown, which opened in late October.
“We are very excited about this milestone,” said Kieran Duffy, Executive Director of Productivity Force. “This year we celebrate five years since we began training apprentices, and our current group of graduates is the first from the Campbelltown training facility, which is the third such training centre. Now we’re looking for host employers who want excellent apprentices to start before Christmas or in the new year.”
