The Ern MacDonald Fellowship aims to launch the careers of talented young tradespeople
working in the building and construction industry through the provision of financial support. The scholarship was established in Ern MacDonald’s honour by WorldSkills Australia, the Dusseldorp Skills Forum (DSF) and the MacDonald family and has been in operation since 2006.

The winner of the scholarship is awarded $10,000 to implement their project plans. Two runners up also each receive $2,500 to put towards their future ventures. Past fellowship winners have used scholarship funding to start their own businesses, travel overseas, invest in further study or implement innovative and sustainable projects that have assisted their broader community.

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Applicants need to:

• Be a medal winner at the previous WorldSkills Australia National competition;
• Have competed in one of the listed Building & Construction categories; and
• Have good ideas about developing your skills and experience.

Ern MacDonald

To Ern MacDonald, who has been credited with changing the face of labour relations in the Australian construction industry, nothing was more important than recognising and encouraging the development of skills in young people. It is fitting that this fellowship, established in his memory, assists careers of talented young tradespeople.

During more than four decades of work with Civil & Civic, the construction arm of Lend Lease, Ern MacDonald, alongside his mentor, Lend Lease Chairman Dick Dusseldorp, pioneered the revamp of work and management practices in the Australian construction industry. His commitment to treating working people with respect and dignity, to working with the unions to find common ground, and to sharing the benefits that flowed from that across the whole company by way of profit sharing and improved wages and conditions of work was widely recognised.

Ern MacDonald’s passionate commitment to skills development was a driving force in the creation of Group Apprenticeship Schemes through the ACTU-Lend Lease Foundation of which he was a foundation trustee. He was also a trustee of both the Dusseldorp Skills Forum and WorldSkills Australia.

2012 Ern MacDonald Fellowship

The 2012 Ern MacDonald Fellowship recipients are:

• 1st prize – Ben Cooper, Cabinetmaker & 2011 WorldSkills International competitor
• Runner up – Richard May, Landscape Construction Worker & 2011 WorldSkills International competitor
• Runner up – Tom Ryan, Joiner & 2010 WorldSkills Australia National silver medallist

For more information about the Ern MacDonald Fellowship visit www.dsf.org.au