Roy Hill Holdings has been named the Western Australia Employer of the Year at a gala ceremony for the WA Training Awards.

The awards are presented by the Department for Training and Workforce Development, to recognise the outstanding achievement of apprentices, trainees, vocational students and the contribution to training made by trainers, training organisations and employers.

Roy Hill’s acknowledgement as WA Employer of the Year 2018 is in recognition of achieving excellence providing nationally recognised training to its employees, the company said. In addition, this year Tarra Ninyette was also named a finalist in the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year.

Roy Hill CEO Barry Fitzgerald said the award was especially significant given the company is still young and evolving.

“Since Roy Hill’s inception in 2012, we’ve held a passionate belief that by helping our people to continually learn and develop, they can reach their full potential – and we all succeed. We are absolutely committed to the training and development of our people, aligned with our values of Lead, Care, Think and Perform,” he said.

“This year, we have developed and implemented a large number of training and development initiatives for our employees. As Roy Hill accepts this award, we have more than 800 people actively engaged in training programmes, complementing more than 300 staff who have successfully completed an accredited training course in the last two years.

Fitzgerald said Roy Hill allocates additional training days for its site-based operators and trades personnel for their personal development, enabling the development of additional skills for alternative career paths.

“We are also committed to providing people without mining experience, but the right values, attitudes and behaviours with opportunities in the industry, through a willingness to train and develop these people hands on,” he said.

“Our training and development initiatives also extend into the broader community, with the establishment of a curriculum based, learning experience where Year Eight students participate in a hands-on visit to our Remote Operations Centre. This initiative is focused on highlighting both the educational and diverse career opportunities in the mining industry with a focus on science, technology, engineering and maths courses, and opportunities for girls.

Fitzgerald concluded the win demonstrated the company’s commitment to a career enrichment programme of upskilling, providing development and career progression opportunities is not only working, but achieving award winning standards.

Roy Hill operates a 55 Mt/y iron ore operation in the Pilbara of Western Australia.