A Western Australian vocational education and training (VET) alliance will be established to encourage input and involvement from the mining and resources industry in the development of Australia’s first automation qualifications.
The WA VET Collaboration, chaired by industry leader Jim Walker, will inform curriculum development, education opportunities and strategies to build new skills and capabilities of the Western Australian workforce.
This industry input will result in Australia’s first nationally accredited courses in automation with a Certificate II course primarily aimed at secondary students, and a Certificate IV course to support the jobs of the future.
This is the next step of a landmark partnership between South Metropolitan TAFE and Rio Tinto announced in October last year, with Rio Tinto contributing $2 million towards the new training program.
The program is expected to be delivered for the first time in 2019.