CNC Based Metal Fabrication - International Specialised Skills ...

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many, many years old. Some equipment was un-usable while waiting forfunding to be repaired or replaced.Many apprentices were learning on equipment and using techniques notused in industry for many years. This has caused some backlash fromemployers who have stated a lack of faith in the training system and itsoutcomes.This problem is not isolated amongst TAFE institutes and is of graveconcern. There has been whispers around some TAFE’s for many years,of the up grading of facilities which is great news.Hopefully if things start to move soon, equipment will also be part of thenew facilities long being talked about.If not the fabrication industry will very soon be replaced with importedproducts or worse still, an influx of skilled migrants which will impactheavily on our young people and leave them with no skills and no jobs.jc 22-May-2006 Q:\APT\ProgCo\EED\D WILSON\ISS Report.doc11
3. The Australian ContextFor many years now the pressure from overseas markets has beenimpacting on our metal fabrication trades. The development of “GlobalMarkets” has meant that Australia, with its small population, is competingwith countries like America, China, Germany and Japan.This competition can be a good thing as product prices are relativelystable whilst countries compete like never before. The down side is thatwith our relatively higher wages on a worldwide scale, we need to besmarter and faster to create a better and faster product.Smarter with design we may be, but in today’s mechanical world it is thequality of the machine that is producing your work that can control yourdestiny. But, and here is the nub of the argument, that machinery mustbe controlled or programmed by someone.Currently the training for high quality machinery will usually take placeoff-shore in a centre dedicated to training to cater for a specific machine.The publicity about the “<strong>Skills</strong> Shortage” that has been running acrossthe media for the last year and a half, has now highlighted the fact thathas been long recognised by the metal fabricators of Australia, that is;we need to “up skill” our workforce if we want to compete on the worldstage. This is one of the major problems facing the industry; ‘to compete,we need to be more efficient with the use of the machinery’ that tradespeoples in the metal fabrication manufacturing industry use everyday.As a trade teacher, it has been frustrating to see that much of thetraining is at the shop-floor, a hand-down from one operator to anotherand a learn via your mistakes approach.It is my belief that to be part of the trade in this era apprentices should beusing the very latest (and possibly the best technologically advancedequipment available to be not - level but leading - ) equipment that isavailable in many workplaces today.TAFE’s in general have issues with not only the cost but also the floorspace required by such equipment, as well as the ability of staff with theskills to be able to understand and use the machinery, as in theworkplace and to then relay those skills. Hand skills are still the basis ofour tradesman but technology is now a major tool that must beembraced.jc 22-May-2006 Q:\APT\ProgCo\EED\D WILSON\ISS Report.doc12
Page 2 and 3: Published by International Speciali
Page 4: Professional associationsEducation
Page 7 and 8: forest suitable for furniture or fl
Page 9 and 10: Fast CAM (Aust)ACRA MachineryElliot
Page 11 and 12: egan. It was around this time that
Page 13 and 14: Some of the major players for fabri
Page 15: Current Training NeedsThe fabricati
Page 19 and 20: FindingsCollege VisitsAlthough I ha
Page 21 and 22: Witchita Area Technical CollegeWich
Page 23 and 24: Training Programs - (Fabricators &
Page 25 and 26: Bottom Bending is where the materia
Page 27 and 28: LVD backs up the level of service t
Page 29 and 30: The afternoon was spent in the trai
Page 31 and 32: German Machine ShowEMO;Possibly the
Page 33 and 34: 5. RecommendationsSince returning f
Page 35 and 36: Some Proposed SolutionsGovernmentGo
Page 37 and 38: teachers have long closed. These ne

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