Mining school at Muresk

MINING services company Ausdrill and vocational training provider Site Group are looking to establish a training academy for mining workers at the old Muresk agricultural college.

The proposed Mine Workers’ Training Academy is the latest and most advanced of several initiatives by the state government to revive Muresk.

The government is also working to re-introduce agribusiness training at the Northam campus, but is yet to lock in a university partner.

The mining academy will deliver specialised training in the operation of heavy earthmov-ing equipment, blast hole drilling, exploration drilling, and shot firing.

Ausdrill CEO Ron Sayers said the academy’s main aim was to increase the number and quality of workers who were site-ready and safety conscious.

“The academy will address the skills shortage that is currently plaguing the resources sector by combining employment offices and training facilities to deliver a ‘one-stop-shop’ to bring people into our industry,” he said.

Running as a campus-style facility, the academy will offer a working hard rock mine and the chance to get hands-on experience in a safe and controlled environment.

Initially, the academy will be targeting young people, indigenous Australians and experienced workers looking to add to their skills.

As Western Australia’s oldest agricultural campus, the Muresk Institute has been an education provider in the areas of agribusiness and rural science.

But its 25-year history as a tertiary institution came to an end in 2012 when Curtin University closed the campus due to financial constraints.

Workplace Development Minister Murray Cowper said the campus would continue to offer quality agricultural courses, in addition to the training academy’s focus on mining.

While a previous announcement made by the minister in December indicated that Curtin University would be providing courses in agriculture and agri-business in 2013, a Curtin representative said they were not involved in any of the courses offered at Muresk this year.

The latest plan announced by Mr Cowper was for a bachelor of agricultural business management to be delivered by C Y O’Connor Institute in collaboration with Charles Sturt University, starting in 2014.

“This agreement is subject to the finalisa-tion of a contract between the two institutions, and the federal government agreeing to allocate the funded places to enable its delivery,” he said in a statement.

“Agriculture today is a high tech, multibillion dollar industry and it is essential the government works with industry to ensure we are delivering the right skills at the right time and in the right places.”

Industry leaders in agribusiness and finance will meet in March to further discuss the issues facing training and education providers in a quickly evolving sector.

The Department of Training and Workforce Development took over the operational management on July 1, 2012 buying the land from Curtin. In December last year, the state government announced the institute was set to receive a funding boost, with $10 million being pledged under the state government’s Royalties for Regions program.