Eight Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have taken the first step to becoming a surveyor, thanks to completing an Indigenous Surveyor Employment Pathway Program at TAFE NSW Ultimo.

The program was a collaboration between TAFE NSW, Indigenous Surveying Company Wumara Group, national spatial data services business Veris and Yarpa NSW Indigenous Business & Employment Hub.

Managing Director of Wumara Group Dylan Frank said the students gained fundamental skills which they are now utilising as full-time employees working on some of Australia's most iconic projects including Inland Rail and Sydney's new M6 Motorway. 

“Our aim at Wumara Group is to provide Indigenous Australians with employment and education opportunities, so we collaborated with TAFE NSW to deliver a program that exposes our mob to all that surveying has to offer them as a career path,” Mr Frank said.

“We are incredibly proud of all of the graduates and look forward to seeing where this experience takes them in our industry.”

According to the Department of Employment, the surveying occupation has been in high demand in NSW since 2011.  

The success of the Indigenous Surveyor Employment Pathway Program has been illustrated by Chaden Silva, a graduate of the cohort.

“I was previously studying physics at University but was looking for a career change, and this program at TAFE NSW was a great opportunity to do that,” Mr Silva said.

“It showed me that surveying is a great career for me, as I get to utilise my existing maths skills and work in a job that’s a perfect balance of office work and being outdoors on the land.

“I’ve commenced my traineeship with Wumara and Veris and have already got the chance to put my skills into practice by working on three surveying projects across Sydney.” 

All eight participants will now study a Certificate III in Surveying and Spacial services at TAFE NSW.

For more information about surveying courses available at TAFE NSW visit www.tafensw.edu.au or phone 131 601. 

Media contact: Kellie Dillon, TAFE NSW Communications Specialist, kellie.dillon7@tafensw.edu.au.