Another step towards the establishment of the Pilbara’s long-awaited Australian Technical College was taken last week, with the signing of a $23.5 million funding commitment by the federal government.
Another step towards the establishment of the Pilbara’s long-awaited Australian Technical College was taken last week, with the signing of a $23.5 million funding commitment by the federal government.
The Australian Technical College – Pilbara, to operate from campuses in South Hedland and Karratha, will be one of two ATCs based in WA as part of a Canberra-led initiative to address the skills shortage in technical trades.
A total of 24 colleges will be established nation-wide.
Expected to open in July, the Pilbara college will cater for up to 110 students and will enable students in the region to complete their secondary schooling while acquiring skills in a high-demand trade, through a school-based apprenticeship at the certificate III level.
The curriculum will include metals and engineering, automotive, building and construction and electro-technology trades, with commercial cookery to be added next year.
Campuses in Onslow and Roebourne are also expected to be operational in 2008, with Tom Price and Newman following in 2009.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia led a consortium of industry partners in the establishment of the college, including Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Woodside and Chevron, with the college to be chaired by Woodside Energy’s general manager, indigenous affairs, Meath Hammond.
Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA director Reg Howard-Smith said the college would collaborate with existing education providers in the Pilbara.
“It will cater for students in years 11 and 12 who wish to complete their certificate of education, while working towards a trade qualification,” he said.
Mr Hammond said the Pilbara ATC would assist in addressing the skills shortages in the region.
“The trade courses offered will include those in high demand by the resources sector: the metals and automotive, electrotechnology, and building and construction disciplines,” he said.
The colleges are the product of a five-year, $344 million funding program by the federal government, based on an election commitment in 2004.
Initially, two colleges were designated for WA, although the state failed to secure funding in the first round of offers in July 2005, with Tasmania the only other state to be denied a college.
The allocation of the colleges was a competitive process involving several councils and regions vying for the two ATCs in the Pilbara region and a ‘Perth – South’ area.
A submission by the Armadale and Gosnells councils won the Perth – South region funding, with campuses located in Maddington and Armadale to begin operating next month.
The Perth – South ATC received a $16 million funding commitment last May and will specialise in automotive trades and construction trades.
Competition from a consortium involving the Rockingham and Kwinana Chamber of Commerce, the state government’s Department of Education and Training, local public schools, Challenger TAFE, the City of Rockingham and the Kwinana Industries Council failed to secure an ATC for the Kwinana area.
The federal government claimed the group’s submission failed to meet core requirements, although there was some speculation that state government involvement had jeopardised the allocation process, given that none of the ATCs allocated in the eastern states had included state government education departments within their consortia.
The North-East Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce also led a tender involving several large local employers and statewide industry associations, but this application was unsuccessful.
