The South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance (SEMMA) has received $200,000 of funding from the Federal Government to launch an industry-led welding skills short course program, designed to provide a continuity of skills needed for the future of manufacturing.
SEMMA is a peak industry group based in Dandenong South, Victoria, representing manufacturers located in Melbourne’s southeast region. The short course will equip participants to perform the work of “Class 2 Welders” – sufficient to meet over an estimated 70% of welding tasks required by manufacturers in south-east Melbourne.
“As anyone who has operated in the engineering/sheet metal sector understands, Australian industry has suffered a severe shortage of suitably trained and skilled welders for more than 25 years,” said SEMMA CEO Vonda Fenwick. “The reality of Australia’s construction led COVID recovery and the increased defence focus over the coming years will increase demand for skilled welders exponentially.”
The four-week course will help place job seekers into full-time, stable, long-term careers, while simultaneously addressing the urgent skill needs of manufacturers. Target participants include youth, female and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) cohorts, as well as individuals whose previous employment was impacted by COVID-19.
The program aims to address a widespread welding skills shortage through delivery of tailored and targeted training aligned to local employer skill requirements and industry needs. Participants will learn key welding skills and receive placement into full-time employment with a local manufacturer upon completion. Over a dozen of SEMMA’s manufacturing members have already provided expressions of interest to employ successful graduates of the welding course.
Course details
- 150 hours over four weeks from late September 2021.
- No cost to participants.
- 60 participants (five courses each with approximately 12 participants).
- Facilitated job placement with exciting local industries upon successful completion.
- Training delivered by Chisholm Institute onsite in a real factory environment with a community-focused industry leader.
- Participants will utilise brand new equipment, including VR welding simulators.
- Project Management of the approved Local Jobs Program (LJP) activity is provided by SEMMA.
- The Local Jobs Program (LJP) is funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
Fenwick added: “In addition to the current welder shortages, one of the reasons we have commenced this process is a fear that the Infrastructure Led Recovery will pull welders from the manufacturing sector, much as the mines called welders away during the mining boom. We simply cannot wait for 3 years for TAFE to turn out a couple of hundred apprentices. We need a more creative solution, and we believe that is what SEMMA’s proposal offers; it is the welding equivalent of a ‘shovel ready project’ … even though it may well be viewed by some as a disruptor.”