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$8.2m to boost civil construction training in SA

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The Federal Government has supported to the tune of $8.2m, the building of a state-of-the art Civil Skills Centre in Thebarton, Adelaide.

  

The site, 1 South Road, is also to be the Civil Contractors Federation of South Australia’s new premises.
CCF SA CEO Peter Nolan said, “This is a terrific outcome, as we will be able to triple the number of excavator, loader and other essential plant operators which South Australia urgently needs now, as well as into the future*. We will also be able to provide greater equity in civil construction training in rural and remote regions via a new mobile training unit.”
The funds from the Federal Government come from its Education Investment Fund (EIF) Round 3 and are supported by a $4.6m co- contribution from the civil construction industry.
The project will comprise three important initiatives. It will:
•    Provide facilities including modern training rooms through the Training Centre at Therbarton, at a cost of $3.5m;
•    Allow training to be delivered where and when it is needed, including rural and regional Australia, with a mobile training unit at a cost of $1.2m; and
•    Bring the latest technology of plant simulation to students and operators for re-skilling and up-skilling using earthmoving simulators at a cost of $3.5m.
Nolan said, “Allowing rural and regional students to get the same training opportunities as those in the cities is a really important part of our new initiatives. In addition to our new simulators we will also continue to provide on site training through Civil Train’s SA Live Works Training site at Playford, or in the workplace.”
Minister for Federal Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and Social Inclusion Simon Crean, attended the official announcement on July 15 on the site of the new Centre, alongside industry representatives.
Nolan said, “We wish to acknowledge the Federal Government’s support in helping us deliver the best possible training outcomes. Work will commence on upgrading the current building on site in 2011, to incorporate the new training facilities. It is expected to be completed by 2012.”

* The CCF SA has researched and identified the skill requirements needed in South Australia for the civil construction industry to deliver on the SA Government’s increased investment into civil infrastructure over the next five years. This research identified very low numbers of formally trained and accredited workers across the civil construction industry, current acute skill shortages and a predicted requirement of 42% increase in skilled workers over the next five years.
 


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