Former Liberty Bell Bay workers will be fast-tracked into construction jobs under a new retraining program, a day after administrators confirmed Australia’s only manganese smelter would close for good.
The Tasmanian government has committed $120,000 to the FORGE AHEAD program, delivered with Master Builders Tasmania.
It will help workers gain nationally recognised construction credentials and connect them directly with builders looking for staff.
Training starts on Monday at Master Builders’ Mowbray facility in Launceston. A second site will operate at Cambridge, with courses also possible in the north-west.
The base course runs for about 10 and a half days and offers seven micro-credentials, including confined-space work, working at heights and basic scaffolding.
Workers without a white card – the basic safety certificate needed to work on any construction site – can get one too.
More than 200 workers lost their jobs when administrators EY announced the smelter’s closure on Thursday after a consortium walked away from a proposed sale.
The smelter, which opened as TEMCO in 1962, had been idle since mid-2025 after losing its ore supply.
Master Builders Tasmania chief executive Jenna Cairney said the pilot could initially train at least 40 workers, with more places added if demand remained strong.
“We have a shortage of about 11,000 building and construction workers,” she said.
“We need 40,000 workers by 2033 and this is one opportunity.”
Some former smelter workers have already found jobs.
Cairney said one major commercial builder had hired four or five workers, while Tas City Building director Steven Simeoni said he could place another five with white cards as early as Monday.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but it’s timely for our industry. We are screaming out for skilled people,” he said.
Skills and Jobs Minister Felix Ellis said the former workforce of electricians, welders, fitters and turners was “ideally suited” to construction, advanced manufacturing and mining.
“We know we need a workforce that can help us to build more homes, more schools, more medical facilities and a whole range of other important infrastructure,” he said.
Workers will continue to be paid until Monday, when they are expected to learn the outcome of redundancy talks.
Ellis said the state had urged the federal government to fast-track payments under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee, which covers unpaid wages and entitlements when an employer becomes insolvent.
A Northern Employment and Business Hub will open at George Town Library on Monday, with sessions in Exeter and Beaconsfield next week.
For more information on FORGE AHEAD, contact Master Builders Tasmania on 03 6210 2000 or [email protected]
