Anna Morgan, a 19 year old Gladstone electrical apprentice, is embarking on a four year apprenticeship with Anglo American

Eight Central Queenslanders have been given four year apprenticeships with mining company Anglo American.

Gladstone’s Anna Morgan is among eight Central Queensland mining industry hopefuls who have snagged a sought-after apprenticeship with global mining giant Anglo American.

The 19-year-old electrical apprentice, who graduated from Toolooa State High School, has been given a four year apprenticeship at the company’s Dawson mine in the Bowen Basin.

Ms Morgan said she saw the resources industry as an exciting and challenging place to start her apprenticeship, which she hopes will lead to a long and rewarding career.

“I’m really enjoying being on site and everyone has been very friendly and helpful,” she said.

Along with apprentices, there has been a recent push to attract more women to the mining sector across the country.

With initiatives like the 2022 Girls in Resources Life Skills (GIRLS) Mentoring Program by The Queensland Resources Council (QRC), which connects female high school students to women in the resources industry so that they can find out more about it, Central Queensland is fast becoming a key breeding ground for women in mining.

Since 2006, the amount of women in Queensland’s resources sector has increased from six per cent to almost 20 percent, and 17 percent in ‘non-traditional’ roles, according to QRC.

Seven other Central Queenslanders have been selected through Anglo American’s work with Apprentices and Trainees Queensland (ATQLD) in Gladstone to work in boilermaking, auto-electrical, diesel fitting and electrical at the Dawson mine - a site with a 1000+ strong workforce.

The other apprentices are from Yeppoon, Rockhampton, Turkey Beach, Emerald, and Theodore.

Clarence Robertson, Anglo American’s Dawson Mine general manager, said the apprentices would have the opportunity to work across the operations at Dawson mine at Moura, including the workshop, coal processing plant and in the field to develop their skills alongside experienced tradespeople who mentor the apprentices.

“At Anglo American, we have a strong history of building a pipeline of qualified workers in the region and we currently have 26 apprentices at Dawson learning their trade,” he said.

“All of the eight apprentices to Dawson this year are from Central Queensland including Theodore, near our mine. ”