A Golden Day for Golden Bay

16 employees at Golden Bay Cement have been presented with their National Certificates in Extractive Industries by the Minister of Energy and Resources, Hon Phil Heatley. The presentation was held at Golden Bay Cement’s Portland Quarry, just south of Whangarei, and was attended by representatives from Golden Bay Cement and the Extractive Industries Training Organisation (EXITO).

Phil Heatley, who is also the National MP for Whangarei, congratulated the recipients on their achievement and emphasised how important it was to retain qualified people like themselves in Whangarei and New Zealand. He acknowledged Golden Bay Cement for their continued support of the local community and highlighted their environmental focus.  Golden Bay Cement recently had this environmental focus recognised when they received the 2012 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) renewable energy award.

Michelle Creagh, Golden Bay Cement General Manager, made it clear that the company was fully committed to developing their employees. This was evident in the variety of different qualifications achieved by the recipients, ranging from NZQA Level 2 to Level 5. Qualifications encompassed in this range cater for learning suitable for new entrants through to experienced operators.

On hand to add his congratulations was Peter Henson, EXITO Extractive Training Advisor. Peter encouraged the recipients to take pride in their achievement as 70% of employees in the Extractive industries don’t hold a tertiary qualification. Achievements like Golden Bay Cement’s are helping put a dent in this statistic. Beyond the practical skills the recipients had acquired in Extractives, they had also demonstrated commitment, the ability to learn, absorb information and then apply it within a setting. “These are valuable attributes for all facets of life” Peter added.

EXITO is the standard setting body for the Extractive Industries and helps manage the training process. Qualifications are achieved in the workplace through on-job training which means employees are learning while they are earning.

Golden Bay Cement is a cement producer and its plant at the Portland Quarry is New Zealand’s largest cement manufacturing operation. Golden Bay Cement is owned by Fletcher Building Ltd.

For more information contact:
WILLIAM ECKFORD
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER
EXITO
UNIT 3, 213 BLENHEIM ROAD
PO BOX 2623 | CHRISTCHURCH 8140
T: 03 366 0730 | M: 027 605 0134 | F: 03 964 4714
will@exito.org.nz
www.exito.org.nz