A local steel fixer said that accidents such as the bridge collapse that injured 15 workers on the Barton Highway occurred because most ACT steel workers are not fully qualified.

But those in the sub trade industries say it is impossible to upskill their staff because cross border anomalies are road blocking them from accessing government funding.

ACT Steelfixing employee Mr Dave Cahill said that the ACT Government had received millions of dollars to upskill its steel fixers, concreters and form workers but many were missing out because their businesses were based in Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra.

He estimated 90% of steel fixers working in the territory were employed by NSW businesses, including those working on major projects such as the Cotter Dam, Canberra Airport and ASIO building.

He said that these companies were registered in the ACT, followed ACT regulations on payroll and long service leave and hired most of their staff from the ACT yet they were barred from grants that would bring their workers up to standard. He added that ''I could sign up 50 people tomorrow if the Government would release this funding. The workers are sick of being treated like second rate citizens on the construction sites.''

The funding Mr Cavill referred to is User Choice, an ACT governed grants program providing AUD 9765 per apprentice or trainee to assist them gain a Certificate III qualification. But the program is only available to workers of employers based in the ACT.

Alternatively, employers can apply for federal funding through the Productivity Places Program, and this is available to all existing workers regardless of which state or territory they live in. But the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union says the program is rendered useless by the fact it only provides AUD 3500 funding per worker.

ACT secretary Mr Dean Hall said registered training organizations would not run the course for that price because of the high cost of materials needed for students. He added that ''NSW based businesses are turned away from training their apprentices for the same reason the User Choice program there only provides AUD 2700 per student.'

The Federal Government recently announced it would be harmonizing rules and regulations for apprentices across jurisdictions but workers say such cooperation must extend to all levels of training.

(Source from www.canberratimes.com.au)