The traineeship intakes are spread out over a nine month period with the first intake of trainees commencing in December of 2019. The Mine Readiness and Standard 11 (S11) training takes place at Lycullin Coppabella at Macmahon / TMM’s maintenance facility which is located 1.5 hours from the Byerwen Coal Mine.
The trainees arrive at Byerwen via Macmahon transport from either Townsville or Mackay and are met by a site training representative for an introduction to camp and its facility’s prior to the commencement of the Mine Readiness and S11 training.
Over the duration of the week the candidates learn what it is like to work a ~12 hour day and the personal responsibilities associated with living in a mining camp.
The first morning the trainees are issued with their PPE before heading off to Lycullin where they are introduced to site management and inducted to sites’ policies and procedures following a full walk around and hazard identification.
On day one, the trainees kick off with an ice breaker and introduction to Macmahon and what they can expect during the start of their new career where they view drone footage of the Byerwen Coal Mine. At the front end of the course the trainees discover the JSEA, Mac 5 and isolation training to understand the risk assessment and isolation process they will need to use during the course of the week.
As the week progresses the team learn about the units of competency that make up the S11. These include: communicating in the workplace; first aid; local emergency response and incidents; site work processes/procedures; local risk controls; working safely and following WHS policies and procedures. Upon completion of the learning S11 units, the candidates undertake mock emergencies in a site environment around plant and machinery where they are able to apply first aid and communication methods they have learned. They also gain hands-on experience with live fire extinguishers.
During the S11 training, the candidates learn mine terminology and how miners speak on the two way radio with all the acronyms referenced so when they get to site they are prepared for, and fully understand the site language.
Once the S11 is completed, the trainees commence their online inductions for both Macmahon and QCoal in a group environment providing the opportunity to ask questions.
Finally, on the last day, the candidates are presented with their Statement of Attainment (SOA) for the S11 and Mine Readiness training before they head off to Byerwen where they are able to spend the last day in a dump truck to finish the training on a high.
