Alcoa applauds 2025 graduate apprentices

After four years of hard work, 24 apprentices from Alcoa’s Western Australian mines and refineries have completed their trade qualifications.

The latest graduating cohort celebrated the milestone at a graduation dinner and awards night at Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club on 13 November 2025.

They are the latest Alcoa apprentices to gain qualifications in heavy diesel and mechanical fitting, fabrication, and electrical instrumentation, joining more than 2700 other apprentices, trainees and graduates who have been trained by Alcoa in its 62 years of operations in Australia.

At the recent graduation dinner, each location recognised an Apprentice of the Year, while refineries – which supported a larger number of apprentices than the mines – also presented safety awards.

Huntly mine heavy diesel mechanic Hayden Hills, who received the mine’s Apprentice of the Year award, addressed attendees at the graduation ceremony, saying that the start of his apprenticeship was a time of excitement and nervousness.

“There was so much to take in, and it could’ve been overwhelming,” Hills said. “But one of the first things someone said to me was, ‘Let’s have some fun and give everything a go.’

“That stuck with me and really set the tone for the years ahead.”

Alcoa Australia President Elsabe Muller urged the graduates to continue developing and focusing on the soft skills they’d learned alongside the more practical elements of their training.

“Excellence in safety, excellence in innovation, excellence in performance and productivity all come when every one of us can bring our whole selves to work, where inclusion and diversity are embraced and where innovative thinking is encouraged and applauded,” Muller said.

“Those things become possible when we are surrounded by - and contributing to – an environment in which we care for people.

“That’s what you will be remembered for and what will set any workplace you go to in the future apart from many others.” 

The 11 women and 13 men started their apprenticeships in 2022, splitting their time between on-the-job training and TAFE classes. Six apprentices who commenced at the Kwinana refinery, which ceased production in 2024, moved to the Wagerup and Pinjarra refineries to complete their training.

Eleven of the cohort have already been offered ongoing employment with Alcoa, while at least eight have secured roles with other employers.

Many of the incoming apprentices who will commence training in 2026 also attended the graduation, gaining a taste for what they can expect at the end of their four years.

 2025 AWARD WINNERS 

Apprentices of the Year
Huntly Bauxite Mine – Haiden Hills
Willowdale Bauxite Mine – Thomas Kirkham
Kwinana Alumina Refinery – Rachel Holmes (relocated to Pinjarra refinery)
Pinjarra Alumina Refinery – Courtney Wragg
Wagerup Alumina Refinery – Jack Dance 

Safety Awards
Kwinana Alumina Refinery – Heidi Staples (relocated to Wagerup refinery)
Pinjarra Alumina Refinery – Reef Liddington
Wagerup Alumina Refinery – Hailey Moody