Plans to establish Western Australia as the world’s centre for excellence in minerals and mining education is a step closer with the launch of the Minerals Institute this week.
Plans to establish Western Australia as the world’s centre for excellence in minerals and mining education is a step closer with the launch of the Minerals Institute this week.
The Minerals Institute is a venture between the Chamber of Minerals and Energy, the Department of Industry and Resources, WA’s universities and the minerals industry.
It is aimed at providing long-term minerals education initiatives to address the issue of skills shortages in the resources sector.
The State Government has committed $1.5 million over three years, while the Federal Government has committed $500,000 as part of its national energy shortage strategy.
Claire Thomas, who was previously Woodside Energy Limited’s recruitment coordinator, has been appointed executive officer of the Minerals Institute.
Minerals Institute chairman Peter Lalor said there was a worldwide shortage of skilled workers for the resources sector, which was being felt by the State’s mining industry, and that WA was an obvious location for a minerals education centre for excellence.
He said there was an international trend towards the creation of education centres of excellence to attract career-minded people into particular industries.
However, he said other minerals education centres, such as the Colorado School of Mines and Royal College of London, had scaled back in recent years, creating an opportunity for WA.
Mr Lalor said the institute would focus on “the pathway” of skills that lead into the resources sector.
“What the industry’s problem is trying to get some continuity with minerals education,” he told WA Business News.
“In very detailed terms it will be primarily aimed at the tertiary sector, but there will be a lot of work with TAFE and also at a secondary school level.”
Mr Lalor said issues such as duplication of courses and attracting high school students into maths and science subjects would also be on the agenda.
“There will have to be some serious collaboration by the universities, and some serious efforts at industry level,” he said.
In the next six months the institute would address major issues and undertake data collection, according to Mr Lalor.
CME director Reg Howard-Smith said that, while the institute would focus on secondary and tertiary education, rather addressing trades shortages, it was designed to run alongside other initiatives addressing the looming skills shortage in the resources sector.
Mr Howard-Smith said one such initiative was the $500,000 in funds committed by the Federal Government to address the shortage in skilled tradespeople.
“They will be looking at a broad area of attraction and retention,” he said.
Mr Howard-Smith said a similar institute had been established by the previous State government but had been unsuccessful.
Curtin University vice-chancellor Lance Twoomey said the institute would create increased communication between industry, government and education sectors allowing universities to tailor courses to industry requirements.
“We know that what happens in the universities are counter cyclical and we are lucky if it coincides with a boom,” he said.
