It was 'bring your family to work day' at Wilpinjong recently, as hundreds of locals gathered for the mine's annual Family Fun Day - as employees shared what they do with their families, friends and the local community.
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Wilpinjong General Manager Blair Jackson said the event also highlighted the many instances where more than one family member are among their almost 550 employees.
"We have a surprising number of examples where a husband and wife or both partners work at Wilpy, or a parent and their son or daughter both have a job at the mine, and it just goes to show how many local families rely on mining for their livelihood," he said. "The day allows family, friends and the general public to explore different areas of the mine including the pits, the mechanical workshop, the Coal Handling and Preparation and the impressive multi-million dollar machinery that our specialist operators manoeuvre each day."
Jason and Sharyl Witcher both work at Wilpinjong and brought their children along to see where Mum and Dad go each day.
"The best thing about bringing the kids out here today is so they can actually see what we do for a living.The kids love that we work in mining, especially how big the machinery is - I think they are pretty impressed with that," Ms Witcher said. "There are lots of advantages of working together. We get quality time off together and it's financial security for our family."
The most recent figures from Coal Services Pty Ltd for the 2018/19 financial year show that there were just over 22,300 coal miners in NSW - nearly 1,000 more than at the same time in 2018.
"We made a decision recently to employ four new trainees every quarter, offering an extra 16 jobs a year to people who've never worked at a mine before," Mr Jackson said. "We'll train these new recruits in everything they need to know, offering them a start in a lucrative career in the mining sector.
"I want to thank everyone who came along today for their interest in what we do. Seeing the hundreds of people head along to the mine today reminds us of how important Wilpinjong is to the local community."