Western Sydney Airport has outdone its own employment target, with a massive 54 per cent of the workforce involved in building the airport coming from the local community.
Revealing the figure at the Boomtown! infrastructure conference last week, Western Sydney Airport CEO Simon Hickey said more than half of the airport team are from Western Sydney – almost double the construction phase target of 30 per cent.
“Western Sydney International Airport is being built to be a catalyst for jobs and opportunities in Sydney’s west, so we’re proud that just over two years into the seven-year build, more than half of the team are local,” he said.
Hickey said the project was still in the earthwork phase, moving around 25 million cubic metres of earth to prepare the site for terminal, runway and other civil infrastructure construction, including internal roads, utilities and supporting buildings.
“With terminal construction due to start by the start of 2022 and the runway soon after, in around two years we’ll be at peak construction, with thousands of people working directly on the site,” he said.
“The flow-on benefits mean that more jobs will be created so that businesses of all sizes, including small to medium local businesses, can service and supply this massive project.
“Once the airport is operating, it will mean jobs of all kinds from ground crew, customer service and retail, as well as jobs at the myriad of employers in the on-airport business park and cargo facility.
“It’s an exciting time for Western Sydney and it’s great that the airport will be an important part of its growth.”
Hickey said that on top of jobs at the airport itself, it will be a catalyst for higher quality employment locally in Western Sydney, meaning fewer people will have to sacrifice three hours a day commuting to work in the east.
“The generational impact Western Sydney International Airport will have on this region is yet to be fully realised,” he said.
The airport is on schedule to open to international and domestic passenger and air cargo services in late 2026.
