For Queenslanders, the Evans Deakin name is synonymous with the Story Bridge which spans the Brisbane River. On the very CTC site where CTC stands, the Story Bridge was built at a cost of £1.15 million. It took 5 years to complete and was officially opened in July 1940, watched by a crowd of 37,000 people.

A charitable trust was founded as a joint initiative of the QLD Government & QLD construction industry with the intention of researching sites to develop a potential training centre.

The purpose of this new centre, which would operate under the name “The Construction Training Centre” or “CTC” was to service the building & construction industry, by providing high quality training in a real work environment.

In 2004, a rethink of the VET system presented an opportunity to review the government’s position in relation to CTC. If CTC was ever going to be successful, it needed to operate on a fully commercial basis. A proposal was drafted that would see CTC as self-sufficient and importantly, generate a “training dividend” that would enable the centre to grow and expand. The solution was based around the concept that all tenants would pay a full commercial rental, not one simple based on cost recovery.

During the pre-GFC period when the labour market reflected full employment, the ability to attract workers to the building and construction industry was regarded as vitally necessary to deliver the ambitious infrastructure programs. Aside from this ‘dividend’ for industry, CTC’s employment programs focused on employment outcomes for long-term unemployed and other under-represented groups, including young people.

After the devastating floods of January 2011, CTC played a significant role in assisting the community to get back on its feet. Displaced workers and long-term unemployed people joined forces with construction tradespeople to refurbish sporting club-houses that had been completely inundated in the floods. As a result, they quickly restored their ability to earn income and therefore remain viable to the workforce. Debris was cleared from many locations, including rural properties in the Brisbane Valley after the flooding swept through.

CTC had delivered 50 training & employment programs since 2005 under the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative. This initiative provided 600 long term unemployed people with paid employment & new work skills, whilst also benefitting the community enormously. Massive improvements were made to infrastructure in various schools, parks and sporting clubs just to name a few.

Central to the collaboration leasing model was the development of a concept called “Hot Leasing”. This means that CTC can now absorb the capital expenditure and idling risk, so RTO’s can deliver training in state-of-the-art facilities on a pay as they use basis, offering them great value for money.

The eastern end of Building 3 & 4 was repurposed with >$.5m spent on installing facilities & infrastructure to enable high risk work license training.

“Build Fitness” was created as part of CTC’s commitment to add value to the traditional tenant/landlord relationship. This scheme was implemented to improve health and decrease the many risks associated with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles.

A scaled replica of the Story Bridge was built by graduate engineers at the very site the original was built, back in the 1930s. It took just 5 days, and has been standing ever since as a reminder of CTC’s history and its service to the industry both past and present.

In accordance with Queensland Government guidelines, CTC remained open as an "essential service" with increased hygiene control, signage and physical distancing measures in place to protect everyone working at or visiting the precinct.