- Six trainees graduate from the Ellendale-Bunuba
Trainee Program in 2026
- Participants awarded 19 nationally recognised
machinery operation certifications
- More rehabilitation works underway at former
Ellendale diamond mine
Six more participants have gained nationally recognised qualifications
through the Cook Labor Government's Ellendale-Bunuba Trainee Program, helping
strengthen regional jobs and workforce development in the Kimberley.
The latest graduates earned a combined 19 certifications of competency in
machinery operations, with five participants from the Kimberley region. Through
hands-on training, graduates gained practical experience and pathways into
careers across Western Australia's resources sector.
The initiative forms part of rehabilitation activities at the former
Ellendale Diamond Mine, where Aboriginal-owned contractor Buru Rehab will
deliver Stage 2 works during the 2026 and 2027 Kimberley dry seasons.
The current trainees build on the success of the program's earlier
cohorts. Between 2023 and 2025, Buru Rehab successfully completed all planned
rehabilitation works as part of its Stage 1 contract.
This included decommissioning site infrastructure, stabilising constructed
landforms and installing more than 5.4 kilometres of safety bunds around former
pit voids.
With the addition of this year's cohort, the program has now supported 22
graduates and delivered a total of 88 nationally recognised certifications.
Ellendale was declared an abandoned mine in December 2015. Ongoing
landform stabilisation at the site has been supported through the Mining
Rehabilitation Fund.
More information on the Ellendale project is available online
at: www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-mines-petroleum-and-exploration/ellendale-project
Comments attributed
to Mines, Petroleum and Exploration Minister Daniel Pastorelli:
"The Ellendale-Bunuba
Trainee Program is helping more Kimberley people gain recognised qualifications
and hands-on experience in a working environment.
"Ellendale demonstrates
how abandoned mine rehabilitation can generate economic and social benefits,
restore the environment and leave a positive legacy long after mining has
ceased.
"I congratulate the
participants, Buru Rehab and the project team for their contribution to another
successful year."
Comments attributed to
Kimberley Minister Stephen Dawson:
"Programs like this ensure
people in the Kimberley are well placed to take advantage of employment
opportunities, while developing skills that can support long-term careers.
"The Cook Labor
Government is committed to helping communities build a skilled workforce,
support local families and create lasting economic opportunities across the
region."
Comments attributed
to Kimberley MLA Divina D'Anna:
"This initiative has
helped strengthen jobs and workforce development in the Kimberley, and the
program alone has helped dozens of graduates secure nationally recognised
certifications all while getting practical experience close to home.
"Congratulations to the
graduates and the project team and I welcome more job-creating initiatives like
these in the Kimberley."
