Komatsu, which is in its centenary year this year, turned the first sod on a new $6m state-of-the-art innovation training facility in Welshpool, WA on August 18.
The facility is expected to train up to 500 skilled technicians a year, addressing a worsening skills shortage in WA’s mining and resources sector.
This shortage is due to a decrease in interstate migration, with increased competition between Eastern states and WA projects.
Komatsu western regional manager Glenn Swift and City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas were attendance at the turning of the first sod.
The new workshop will be kitted out with a 30t crane in a heavy lifting bay, with the balance of the workshop having a 5t crane capacity, a flow-through workshop to maximise flexibility, and lab rooms dedicated to hydraulics, electrical and electronics.
Mr Swift says Komatsu aims to embrace technology, maximise productivity, minimise impact to the environment and optimise the use of Komatsu’s most precious resource — its people.
Diversity is paramount to Komatsu’s operations. It achieved a 50:50 gender ratio and 94% retention rate for its apprenticeship uptake in 2020 along with programs and partnerships that promote respect and diversity among trainees and the workforce.
Komatsu apprentice Demi Clarke looks forward to training in a state-of-the-art facility with original equipment manufacturer equipment and machinery with highly skilled trainers. This is expected to maximise career opportunities for her and her cohort.
Ms Clarke’s message for other women interested in entering the industry is to “go for it!”
Komatsu takes its sustainability and diversity obligations seriously, aiming to work well with the community and WA’s precious natural resources.
“It’s a wonderful step forward, in this very important direction, in an hour of significant need for our state,” says Mr Zempilas.
This new facility will serve as the west coast training hub for business and industry partners, following Komatsu’s $7 million investment into an east coast training facility in Sherwood, Brisbane in 2013.
Mr Swift says that the impact of COVID-19 and closed borders have presented additional challenges around talent availability and accessibility, highlighting the importance of a training facility on the west coast.
“Our WA operation works heavily with the mining industry, where a large portion of the workforce are interstate, fly-in-fly-out workers,” he said.
For a century, the company has been creating value for its customers through manufacturing and technology innovation, and this facility marks an exciting new expansion in the training of WA’s workforce — a vital asset for years to come.
Construction is expected to be completed in 2022 and fully operational within three months of completion.
**The Australian Mining Review will be taking a closer look at the history, achievements and future of Komatsu in their centenary year in our upcoming publications.
