COMMERCIAL & RETAIL
Ingkerreke Commercial Team apprentices Ryan Wark, Simon Darling, Steve Woolcock, trainee Dylan Woolcock
and graduate Thomas Gorey in the workshop last week
Picture: CHLOE GERAGHTY
CEO Scott McConnell paid
tribute to the graduates and
said his organisation was
committed to a high ratio of
indigenous trades people.
‘‘People like Thomas are
exemplary and have demonstrated a serious commitment to culture, family,
football and career.
‘‘He has shown dedication
to work.
‘‘Ingkerreke is deeply
committed to a very high
ratio of indigenous apprentices and staff in general.
‘‘We hope our target clients also understand the
value of employing indigenous people.
‘‘We strive to produce
graduates that are viable
and can get employment in
the mainstream businesses
or they can start their own
businesses,’’ he said.
Mr McConnell said there
was need for commercially
viable employees and emphasised the importance of
career development among
indigenous youths.
‘‘We encourage people to
work and develop their career, not at the expense of
culture and family, but because of their culture and
family.
‘‘To meet those cultural
and family commitments,
you need to commit time in
your life and deliver your
own aspirations.
‘‘You need a job, you
cannot sit at home on welfare — we encourage people
to work.’’
Mr McConnell called on
organisations and companies in Alice to consider investing in local human
resources.
‘‘The good thing about
employing people from here
is that they are unlikely to
relocate to other states or
territories because they
belong here,’’ he said.
‘‘If you train indigenous
people here it would be very
rare to have a situation
where they would say they
want to go and live in the
Coast’’’ he said.
Firms pass electrical safety tests
Dean O’Connor from Dean’s
Test & Tag with his
equipment that tests a
battery charger
Picture: COREY SINCLAIR
WHEN it comes to maintaining workplace electrical
equipment, Alice Springs
businesses operate within
expected standards.
A local testing and tagging
company owner says he
has done 100,000 testings
since his company started
work in 2007.
Dean O’Connor of Dean’s
T e st & T ag s aid his
company had done a lot of
work in Central Australia
and beyond.
‘‘Businesses are required
under health and safety
laws to ensure a safe workplace through maintaining
electrical equipment in a
safe condition,’’ Mr
O’Connor said.
‘‘My company is licensed
to do the testing and tagging
work as an integral part of
preventing electrical hazards in the workplace.
‘‘We are able to test portable 240V electrical equipment, including residual
‘
Last month, I’d
completed
100,000 tests
since I started the
company in
2007
’
current devices and surgeprotector powerboards.’’
Mr O’Connor said his
business continued to grow
from strength to strength.
‘‘I am in my sixth year in
this business and I have
tested and tagged for clients
in Alice and as far as Tennant Creek and other places
in Central Australia, includ-
ing the north of Pitjantjatjara lands in South Australia,’’ he said.
‘‘Last month, I’d completed 100,000 tests since
I started the company
in 2007.’’
Mr O’Connor said most
businesses were up to
scratch in Central Australia.
‘‘Generally, when I get to
test for a business for the
first time, faults are between four and five per
cent,’’ he said.
‘‘When I go for the second
test, they are usually between one and two per cent.
‘‘I would say the standards
are reasonable.
‘‘People are more careful
with electricity than
other things.’’
The South Australianborn businessman has been
in Alice Springs for 21 years.
Before setting up his business in 2007, Mr O’Connor
was a maintainance manager for an organisation in
town.
Centralian Advocate, Tuesday, October 23, 2012 — 19
C M YK
COLOR:
AN ALICE Springs indigenous organisation’s efforts to
empower indigenous youth
has had a huge boost with
the graduation of two of its
apprentices.
The students, at
Ingkerreke Commercial,
graduated in welding and
steel fabrication.
One of the graduates,
Thomas Gorey, said he was
excited that he had become
a tradesman. ‘‘I started in
2008 and the reason I got
into it was that I wanted to
qualify for some job and be
able to work,’’ he said
General manager Steve
Woolcock said his organisation was getting lots of
work from Alice Springs
and remote communities.
‘‘We specialise in training
indigenous apprentices in
metal fabrication, carpentry
and plumbing. We have
trained electricians in the
past, and we will start on
that program soon.
‘‘We also give them skills
in areas like painting and
tiling, among others,’’ he
said.
Ingkerreke Commercial is
a subsidiary of Ingkerreke
Outstation Resource Services which is managed by a
board of directors.
Mr Woolcock said
Ingkerreke Commercial was
doing very well in achieving
its objectives.
‘‘Our role is to perform
commercial works and all
the profits are reinvested in
training the apprentices
and general operations.
‘‘At the moment we are
doing large supplies of stainless steel and kitchens for
houses in Hermannsburg.
‘‘We have also done lots of
large structures in schools
and outstations owners
come to us for high-quality
steel trays for their vehicles,’’ he said.
Ingkerreke Commercial
DATE: 23-OCT-2012 PAGE: 19
Mluleki Moyo
LASSETERS Hotel Casino
has embarked on a massive
security upgrade that will
bring the system to international standards.
Director of security and
surveillance Justin Rooke
said the upgrade would go a
long way towards giving the
business much-needed security after the recent
$35 million construction of a
new wing.
‘‘We have been using an
analogue system which we
feel is now outdated,’’ he
said. ‘‘We are now putting in
place an Internet Protocol
System which has better
cameras and better quality.
‘‘It produces high standard pictures such that you
can see faces in a good
quality picture.
‘‘We also needed this system so that we could have
additional cameras for our
new building at the same
time having an opportunity
to give the 21st century-kind
of CCTV footage.’’
Mr Rooke said the new
system was good in that it
used less energy, and he
paid tribute to the local
company doing the work.
‘‘What makes this development more valuable and
important is that it is being
done by a local company,’’ he
said. ‘‘We are happy that
Ronin Security Technologies are doing the works
for us. They are a local
company with exceptional
service and leaders in this
type of technology.’’
Ronin Security Technologies d ir ector G r ant
Byrnes said the Lasseters
Hotel Casino was the first
business in town to put the
system in place and the job
would be completed in the
next four weeks.
‘‘Apart from the quality
CCTV system, the new system will have an access control, duress and security systems,’’ he said.
Lasseters Hotel Casino
chief operating officer Chris
Sartori said the new system
was competitive by world
standards.
PUB: CADV
Thomas excited to
become tradesman
Lasseters
welcomes
beefed-up
security