A new Advanced Manufacturing Skills Lab at the TAFE Queensland Cairns campus presents new home for maritime, aviation and food manufacturers to hone their skills for the region’s in-demand blue collar careers.
The technology at the new Lab includes a cobot (collaborative robot) arm, 3D printers, and water jet and laser cutters, with many courses offered at no cost under Labor’s Free TAFE initiative.
The facility will offer training in computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing and computer numerical control.
This training supports qualifications such as Diploma of Applied Technologies in 2024, and the Certificate III in Manufacturing Technology and Industry 4.0 Skillset from 2025.
Member for Cairns, minister Michael Healy, said as the region grows, skilled staff will be needed.
“This new advanced manufacturing facility is so vitally important to our plan to ensure that we’re accommodating for the jobs of the future, with the appropriate infrastructure and the appropriate support from government,” said Healy.
“Our local TAFE is like a nursery regardless of your age, you can come here, you can be trained in so many different areas – it’s got lathes, CNC machines, robotic arms, and 3D printing – how exciting is this!”
The upgraded space includes an electrical lab, mixed virtual reality room, flexible training rooms, collaborative workspaces, and multipurpose workshops.
The workshops are all designed to target a 4-Greenstar “Interiors” rating for improved environmental performance, particularly in operational energy usage.
According to Jobs Queensland, the manufacturing sector will employ more than 6,700 people in Cairns by 2025-26.
The Advanced Manufacturing Skills Lab is part of the $100 million Equipping TAFE for our Future program, which focuses on providing Queenslanders with access to modern TAFE facilities to support high-quality training.
The project will support the Queensland Government initiatives for Industry 4.0 – the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will enable advanced manufacturers to connect big data and analytics with automation and robotics, improving cost, productivity, profitability and operations.