Copyright © 2018 Rio Tinto. Image: Christian Sprogoe Photography.
BY REUBEN ADAMS
AUSTRALIA’S first nationally accredited courses in automation will be delivered for the first time in 2019.
This is the next step of a landmark partnership between South Metropolitan TAFE and Rio Tinto announced in October last year, with the miner contributing $2 million towards a new curriculum including robotics, data analytics and digital inclusion education.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore chief executive Chris Salisbury said the new wider curriculum being developed would enhance capabilities of those in the mining sector and form part of the learning pathways for those seeking to enter a range of industries applying automation and technology.
The proposed curriculum will be completed by the end of 2018, and delivered through a range of new industry traineeships and post-secondary courses predicted to start by 2019.
“The demand for people educated in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics will continue to grow,” Mr Salisbury said.
“I invite my industry partners, who are also investing in automation technology, to join us in this collaborative education initiative as the State economy continues to diversify.”
WA Education and Training minister Sue Ellery said creating clear education and training pathways was key to maintaining the State’s competitive advantage as a leader in automation technology.
“By partnering directly with industry, we can ensure the new curriculum futureproofs jobs by training Western Australians with the skills we know industry will need,” she said.
“This is a great example of industry working collaboratively with Government to ensure our training sector creates a highly skilled workforce.”
