Workers upskill on short courses

MINISTER for industry and innovation Ben Carroll was in Ballarat last week to visiting local businesses SEM Fire and Rescue and Journey2.

SEM Fire and Rescue is one of the country’s biggest manufacturers of emergency vehicles and has workers taking part in the State Governments $4.5 million Digital Jobs and Manufacturing Program which launched last October.

The program offers manufacturing businesses grants which allow their employees to enrol in a 12-week course.

Murkesh Arella is a mechanical engineer at SEM Fire and Rescue and enrolled in an additive manufacturing course via the grant, where he learnt about new technologies like 3D printing.

He said the course was particularly important in an every-changing technological environment.

“The program helps us to design parts better and quicker as well as analysis skills which help us know the part is alright and structurally strong,” said Mr Arella.

“I’m really glad I took part in the course because it’s been four years since I finished my masters, and it helps to learn new things as a lot has changed since then.”

Technologies like 3D printing have allowed SEM Fire and Rescue to make parts quickly and cheaply when compared to ordering them from suppliers.

That has ped up the company’s ability to produce emergency vehicles like ambulances and fire trucks.

New skills are also central to the State Government’s SummerTech LIVE program that’s aiming to match university students form information and community technology fields with small-to-medium sized business.

The students work on the projects at enterprises through a 12-week paid summer internship.

Mr Carroll met with Bigya Paudyal, a former student who was involved in the program at Ballarat-based Journey2.

Since completing the internship, Ms Paudyal has gone on to become a senior developer at the company which seeks to bridge the gap between ideas and digital technologies.

Mr Carroll said companies like SEM Fire and Rescue and Journey2 highlight the need for short courses and programs which can keep up with the changing technological landscape.

“What we know is whether its learning coding, additive manufacturing, learning about AI, it is vitally important,” he said.

“Industry now tell me they need staff not tomorrow, but today, and that’s why courses, they can be top up courses, 12-week courses, are very much part of the future.”