CNC Based Metal Fabrication - International Specialised Skills ...

Skills Gaps – Apprentice TrainingIt has long been known in the manufacturing and fabrication industry thatwe do not have enough young people coming into the trade.Many good young people are pushed on to university or high profiletrades like electrical or plumbing because these areas have high profilepublicity via housing markets and our “Australian Dream”, and thegovernment support to go with it. Engineering, including fabrication isseen as “Black Art” or “Dirty”, and our historically low level of supportfrom government as well as the low perception many parents andcareers teachers have of the trade is a reflection of this belief.With modern technology including computerised equipment the reality issuch that the manufacturing trade is now far more specialised andrequires highly trained and highly qualified people to fill these positions.As well training facilities across the majority of TAFE institutes are in direneed of upgrade and whispers of possible reform needs to desperatelygain momentum or funding will end up within the departments with thehighest profiles and not necessarily the most needs.Another pressing problem is that many teachers are now getting close tothe age for retirement and this creates another skills gap with newteachers coming into the system very slowly and at times no overlappossible.We need to have time for new teachers to bring new skills into the agingdepartments and time for older teachers to mentor younger teachers intraining situations and techniques. Also, New equipment to match thecurrent industry requirements and assist skill levels to be sharedamongst new and old staff, currently not possible at most trainingInstitutes.The students as our future trades people and current trades people arethe biggest losers in this situation. Their training, while competentlydelivered, is flawed by the lack of quality equipment that they areexposed too.jc 22-May-2006 Q:\APT\ProgCo\EED\D WILSON\ISS Report.doc9