More than 20 Sandvik employees across Australia have signed up for a new vocational course to enhance their Industry 4.0 expertise.
The Diploma of Applied Technologies Course is being piloted by vocational training bodies across the country, including TAFE Queensland.
It will enable workers in manufacturing and engineering jobs to grasp an Industry 4.0-related skillset, which involves smart technologies, such as automation, in industrial processes.
Course participants will receive training with cyber-physical systems, digital control systems and digital networks.
TAFE Queensland will offer the course as a “higher level apprenticeship”, supplying hands-on learning and sophisticated formal training.
Sandvik’s business line manager for service Nathan Cunningham said Sandvik was inclined to be involved in the initiative due to its presence as a global leader of autonomous underground mining equipment and mining control systems.
“This course gives us a great means to upskill our current employees so that they can better support the new technologies that we’ve got coming into the industry,” he said. “Having people with the right skills and knowledge means we can get new technologies to work more effectively for customers.”
The Queensland Minister for Training and Skills Development Shannon Fentimen said the skills are important for many in-demand jobs available both now and in the future.
“The new Higher Level Apprenticeship qualification will continue to provide the hands-on learning of a traditional apprenticeship combined with the cutting edge training needed for Industry 4.0,” he said.
Four of Sandvik’s Queensland staff members signed up for the course, including technical support manager for mine automation Ty Osborne.
For Osborne, the constant developments in industry technology make training and Industry 4.0 skills necessary.
“There is definitely a skills gap between what I learned when I first learnt my trade and what I do now,” he said. “Doing the Diploma of Applied Technologies will bridge that gap for me and help me move forward into the next generation of where we need to go.
“In five years, I would like to see these technologies grow to where we have a larger department to look after automation, a stronger workforce, and for myself to be leading that team.”