Thirty-four new apprentices have commenced their trade training across Wilmar Sugar and Renewables' eight Queensland sugar mills.

The new apprentices completed their two-week Safe Start program earlier this month before beginning work at their respective sites.

Training Superintendent Daniel Shipard said the two-week Safe Start program prepared the new apprentices for what life would be like in our mills.

“It’s about getting them to understand Wilmar’s safety requirements and procedures, as well as giving them the basic skillset they require to enter their relevant workshops,” Mr Shipard said.

Sixteen of the apprentices are based in the Burdekin region, seven are based in the Herbert region, six at Proserpine Mill and three in the Plane Creek region.

Plane Creek Mill fitting and turning apprentice Hendrikus Voigt said he chose to do an apprenticeship with Wilmar because he believed it would set him up for a strong future.

“I’m looking forward to learning more skills in the workshop and getting my hands on the big lathes. It just blows my mind how big they are and I can’t wait to get to work on them,” Hendrikus said.

Proserpine Mill electrical apprentice Jayme Farr said she was thrilled to be doing her trade training in her home town.

“My family has been living in Proserpine since my father was 16 years old and, for over three generations now, we’ve been breeding horses on our family farm,” Jayme said.

“Being able to do my apprenticeship at Proserpine Mill means that I can be home every afternoon to spend time working on the farm with my family and compete in campdrafts with my friends on the weekends.”

In the Burdekin, Hugh Barnicoat is starting at Pioneer Mill as a second-year electrical apprentice.

He said he had transferred to Wilmar from his previous job for greater skill exposure and to be mentored by Wilmar’s experienced tradespeople.

“I’m excited to be working with the mill’s state of the art equipment, particularly the big switchrooms in the factory,” Hugh said.

Mr Shipard said he was excited to bring the newest intake of apprentices into Wilmar's operations, across the key trades of electrical, fitting and turning, boilermaking and diesel fitting.

“They’re going to be a huge asset to our organisation and we can’t wait to see them grow over the next four years of their apprenticeship.”

Wilmar is one of North Queensland’s largest apprenticeship providers employing about 140 apprentices at any one time.

Our apprenticeship program is also one of the most successful in Australia, with a completion rate exceeding 95 per cent.