Southern Rural Water’s Werribee Irrigation Modernisation Project is more than just securing the farming futures of the district’s vegetable growers. The project is also providing employment opportunities to local businesses and residents.
A key part of any construction project is traffic management to control the flow of traffic in the local area.
Traffic controller Reece White plays an important role, working closely with construction crews to minimise impacts to road users and residents.
Reece is employed by First Nations Traffic Management, an indigenous Melbourne-based business that provides traffic management services throughout the state. One of the company’s founders is former St Kilda footballer Nicky Winmar.
Reece is indigenous and lives in nearby Laverton. “Werribee is close, so it’s nice to work on a local job,” he said.
“I’ve been with First Nations for about four months and so far, I’m really enjoying the work. I get to work on different sites and with nice people, which I really appreciate.”
Six indigenous staff have been employed by First Nations on the modernisation project.
First Nations Traffic Management co-founder Mistaya Masters said the company was like any other traffic management provider – but with a difference.
“We are busy most days of the year, supplying traffic management staff to construction sites. But we’re also a socially minded business.
“We aim to provide opportunities to people from challenging backgrounds, especially at-risk young people. A key goal of ours is to employ indigenous people that otherwise might struggle to find meaningful employment.
“We’ve found that our staff enjoy the work they do, especially working outdoors,” said Mistaya.
Contractor Jaydo Construction, which is delivering the pipeline project on behalf of Southern Rural Water, sub-contracted First Nations Traffic Management to undertake a portion of traffic management on the project.
“We’re proud to partner with businesses like First Nations. Not only are they good at what they do, they are also doing great things supporting local indigenous people,” said Warren Stephenson, Jaydo Project Manager for the Werribee Irrigation Modernisation project.
Construction is ongoing on the Werribee Irrigation District modernisation project. More here: https://www.srw.com.au/initiatives/projects/werribee-irrigation-district-modernisation