Tamworth: Productivity Bootcamp gets green light thanks to support from business, education sector

Productivity Bootcamp founder and director Paul Breen pitched his program to Tamworth last month, and it was confirmed late May.

It gives trainees a taste of different disciplines, including scaffolding, concreting, bricklaying, carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work across eight weeks.

Most young people don't have a clear perspective of which discipline they'd like to follow in trades, general manager of productivity group Paddy Hore said.

"You could ask 10 [teenagers] who put their hand up to say they're interested in a trade, you'll probably find seven or eight of them will say they want to be an electrician," he said.

"And then when you delve a little bit deeper, there's not much substance to why they want to be electricians, it's probably the only trade that they've ever come into contact with.

"It's unlikely they've ever met a concreter or a metal fabricator or a roof tiler, but they've probably seen an electrician in their house, and thought I'd like to do that."

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There's been a lot of response and comment from local industry behind the bootcamp, Tamworth Business Chamber manager Bryan O'Connor said.

"Bootcamp is setting them up to walk straight in and go, we're ready to go," he said.

"You're not taking two or three months of an employer's time, they've already got WHS experience, they know to get to work on time, they're respecting people, they've already asked enough questions to not have to ask them.

"That is why candidates that leave bootcamp are such an asset to a business, because they're ahead of the game."

The program already operates in Penrith, Campbelltown, Quakers Hill, and Nowra, but Mr Hore said Tamworth will be different to meet community demands and requirements.

The business community has already flagged the number of large solar and wind sites in Tamworth, he said.

"There's any number of functions that we can fill in there, we can train people for the installation, we can train people for the site preparation, the fencing work that goes in, but then equally the ongoing maintenance," he said.

The program is offered for free and is funded by a mixture of government, private and charity organisations, however further funding has been applied for with a government agency, Mr Hore said.

The group behind the program is working to find candidates and trainers and raising its profile.

Mr Hore said the group is looking for a site, which must be purchased in Tamworth before the program begins in early 2024.

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