 mines and refineries have completed their education and training to gain trade qualifications.){kind=link}
Alcoa celebrates 2025 graduate apprentices
After four years of hard work, 24 apprentices working across Alcoa’s (ASX: AAI) mines and refineries have completed their education and training to gain trade qualifications.
They are the latest Alcoa apprentices to gain qualifications in heavy diesel and mechanical fitting, fabrication and electrical instrumentation, joining more than 2700 other apprentices, trainees and graduates who have been trained by Alcoa in its 62 years of operations in Australia.
The cohort celebrated the milestone at a dinner and awards night at Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club in WA last Thursday.
At the graduation dinner, each location recognised an Apprentice of the Year, while refineries — which supported a larger number of apprentices than the mines — also presented safety awards.
Huntly heavy diesel mechanic Hayden Hills, who received the mine’s Apprentice of the Year award, says the start of his apprenticeship was a time of excitement and nervousness.
“There was so much to take in, and it could’ve been overwhelming,” he said.
“But one of the first things someone said to me was, ‘let’s have some fun and give everything a go’. That stuck with me and really set the tone for the years ahead.”
Alcoa Australia president Elsabe Muller urged the graduates to continue developing and focusing on the soft skills they’d learned alongside the more practical elements of their training.
“Excellence in safety, excellence in innovation, excellence in performance and productivity all come when every one of us can bring our whole selves to work, where inclusion and diversity are embraced and where innovative thinking is encouraged and applauded,” she said.
“Those things become possible when we are surrounded by — and contributing to — an environment in which we care for people. That’s what you will be remembered for and what will set any workplace you go to in the future apart from many others.”
The 11 women and 13 men started their apprenticeships in 2022, splitting their time between on-the job training and TAFE classes.
Six apprentices who commenced at the Kwinana refinery, which ceased production in 2024, moved to the Wagerup and Pinjarra refineries to complete their training.
Many of the incoming apprentices who will commence training in 2026 also attended the graduation, gaining a taste for what they can expect at the end of their four years.
2025 Award Winners
Apprentices of the Year
- Huntly bauxite mine: Hayden Hills
- Willowdale bauxite mine: Thomas Kirkham
- Kwinana alumina refinery: Rachel Holmes (relocated to Pinjarra refinery)
- Pinjarra alumina refinery: Courtney Wragg
- Wagerup alumina refinery: Jack Dance
Safety Awards
- Kwinana alumina refinery: Heidi Staples (relocated to Wagerup refinery)
- Pinjarra alumina refinery: Reef Liddington
- Wagerup alumina refinery: Hailey Moody