Brick and Block Careers

Last week, our VIC team had the pleasure of visiting the Melton City Council Youth Centre to introduce young adults to an exciting career pathways in brick and blocklaying.
The weekly program supports young people to build essential life skills, develop job readiness and strengthen their employability, alongside their dedicated Youth Development & Support Officer.
We were proud to share insights into the opportunities available within the construction industry and inspire the next generation to consider a career in the trades!

On Saturday night Claudia and I attended the annual Skill Hire Apprentice Awards at the Burswood Casino. As on ongoing sponsor and supporter of the this event, we where absolutely blown away when we won an award ourselves, namely for Industry Collaboration. Thankyou very much to Skill Hire as it was a fantastic night and a great chance to not only catch up with some great industry people but also be recognized for our partnership and efforts. Many thanks

A big congratulations to ABN Bricklaying Apprentice Sabit Maper for winning, Best 1st Year Apprentice, at the recent HIA Awards held last Friday night. He also recently helped us out at the Skills West Expo on the Brick and Block Careers stand, sharing his experiences with hundreds of young boys and girls.

Sabit is a fine young man that sets the benchmark very high for determination, skills development and reliability. Seen here with our very own Claudia Micicoi presenting, we are very proud to be ongoing sponsors of this great event.

Well done Sabit, ABN and the HIA.

We attended the Wesbuilders Expo again this year at Burswood, partnering with our primary manufacturer here in the west, namely Midland Brick. This expo brings small and medium builders together across the state to talk to suppliers, manufacturers, and industry service providers, as to connect with each other (around 250+).

Great to chat to some of the greats of industry that have been around since Adam was a boy and still going strong. Many are now bringing their sons and daughters into their companies.

Lots of discussions on trades and trade sustainability through training! It also gave us a chance to showcase the great results that we achieved for our state this financial year just gone for industry.

Great expo Wesbuilders, WA is in great shape!

Jason Seiler International World Skills Report – China 2026

Our own Jason Seiler from Western Australia has just achieved a Bronze Medal score in the lead up to the International World Skills Competition this week.

Although the competition will not actually take place until September, he was recently invited to China with others to complete an extraordinarily complex project designed to assess their skills.

The report from the Australian Judge Andrew (Tiger) Hosking, cites:
“Jason got a bronze outcome in a strong field. Even more remarkable, the project was so complex, that only 3 of the 8 finished, of which Jason was one of them”. “Only 4 points separated Silver and Bronze”.

Jason is well and truly on an incredibly special pathway to international trade excellence for Bricklaying, the likes that we have not been seen before.

He has made significant sacrifices to get to this level, measured in his personal training time, time off site and the physical and mental efforts required to ensure he is amongst the best of the best.

The remarkable story continues for Jason in this once in a lifetime experience. He is an athlete, a technical trade expert and a red-blooded Aussie, giving his all for his country!

Please join us in wishing him well with his ongoing journey. To be continued.








-Jade Sanderson

2026 Perth Regional World Skills Competition

Coinciding with the Skills West Expo, the 2026 Perth Regional World Skills Competition kicked off last week with a total of 12 students and apprentices participating. The competition represents one of three regions for WA this year, with another scheduled for Bunbury in August and perhaps one more at South Metropolitan TAFE in October.

It was the VET school students that dominated this event, with an excellent turn out from Ellenbrook Secondary College and Aveley College. It was great to see this level of participation from these schools, which parallels the strong need for bricklayers in that housing growth region.

Whilst we only had 6 Apprentices in the Open Competition, they were all a very high calibre, with some stand outs based on their attention to detail, build quality and high marks achieved.

These events would not be possible without a very dedicated volunteer cohort. These special people have an immense passion for the trade and trade training excellence. Whilst I cannot name them all, I can mention their various organisations which include NMTAFE, SMTAFE, SRTAFE, WA Trade Academy, Skill Hire, ABBTF, DTWD, and ABN Group.

In addition, an immense quantity of materials and equipment was required, which was kindly donated by the following organisations, Midland Brick, Cockburn Cement, Bunnings, ABBTF, Brickies Sales and Repairs, Skill Hire, Hinds Sands, Instant Bins, NMTAFE, SRTAFE and Motivation Foundation.

Results will not be release until the completion of all competitions this year, however we congratulate all those that competed, which was particularly special this year given that every person completed their projects on time.

A special mention to World Skills Champions Beau Mettraux, Jay Mercer Harrison and Tyler Baric, who gave up their personal time to assist at the event. It was very special to see them come back and help. Monique Juratovac also popped in to support the event. Well done and thankyou to everyone that assisted and competed.












-Jade Sanderson




Mettraux

Perth Skills West Expo 2026

Brick & Block Careers enjoyed another great turn out for the Skills West Expo last week, at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, with over 12,000 people coming through over the three days.
The Expo coincided with the Perth Regional World Skills Competition.

These events help show case the trade and trade training pathways for people of all ages, with many school students considering VET options for the years ahead and others considering career changes and other pathways.

Interest in Bricklaying and the wet trades can be a difficult sell sometimes, however with the trade on show through World Skills and awesome support from great staff and industry volunteers, suitable motivation and information was provided to likeminded people wanting a great career.

A very special mention to Ian Fitzgerald (former staff member), Todd Cherry from SMTAFE Rockingham, Kris Schache from SMTAFE Thornlie, Claudia Micicoi and Rebecca Moriconi from Brick & Block Careers, MEGT, ABN, Skill Hire, WA Trade Academy, North Metropolitan TAFE, South Regional TAFE and Midland Brick.
In addition, young Sabit Maper, Bricklaying Apprentice from the ABN Group, did a sterling job talking with prospective students about his experiences and accomplishments, working both Thursday and Friday for us. He picked up a $200 fuel voucher for his valuable time with us.

Wayne Sutherland and a young lad that came through with his builder father, stole the show however as seen in the photos attached.

Thankyou to everyone that helped make this another special Expo for Brick and Block Careers!












-Jade Sanderson

Celebrating NAIDOC Week 2026.

NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate, reflect and learn.

This year's theme, "50 Years of Deadly," marks an important milestone, celebrating five decades of NAIDOC Week and recognising the strength, resilience, leadership, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

At ABBTF, we acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to our communities and the building and construction industry. We remain committed to creating pathways into apprenticeships and employment, supporting opportunities for the next generation of skilled tradespeople.

As we celebrate this milestone, we reflect on the progress made, recognise the work still ahead, and reaffirm our commitment to listening, learning and working together to build a stronger, more inclusive future.