G & S Engineering Services has taken its support of CQU Mackay engineering students one step further by offering a scholarship for second years enrolled in the Bachelor of Engineering (Co-op)/Diploma of Professional Practice (Engineering) program.

CQU Mackay Engineering Co-op students complete paid internships with various engineering firms in Mackay, including G & S.

The G & S scholarship will be awarded to a second-year student of this program based on their academic achievement and career aspirations.

The scholarship was officially announced by Professor Elizabeth Taylor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, at the CQU Mackay Prize Ceremony last Friday night.

Mr Paul Collins, Business Manager of the Maintenance and Mining Division of G & S Engineering Services, believes support to CQU students is essential to ensure the region’s supply of quality engineers is maintained, especially in the current climate.

“We are very happy to support CQU as it is a strong local training facility for our industry. We employ a number of students from the CQU Coop program, both as students completing internships and as graduates for permanent positions, and find that the industry experience gained throughout the degree is invaluable for the individual and for our company,\" he said.

\"CQU students are a step ahead of competing graduates as they are able to offer an employer both university qualifications as well as over a year’s practical experience.

\"We also find that a lot of the local graduates actually stay working in the Mackay region for a long time.

\"Graduates from the bigger cities don’t always have the same commitment to small rural areas as those that have grown up here, and as such we are always keen to employ local students where suitable\".

Photo above: Professor Elizabeth Taylor, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, with Paul Collins of G & S Engineering Services.