RMIT unveils Trades Innovation Centre

By 2025, it is projected that the state of Victoria will need another 4000 electricians, 2400 plumbers and 500 refrigeration mechanics, according to Victoria-based RMIT University.

A Trades Innovation Centre planned for the University’s Bundoora East campus will feature a range of facilities that will allow students to learn and demonstrate their skills as well as allow industry to test and trial solutions to solve real-world problems.

RMIT said the Centre will enable RMIT to contribute to meeting forecasted demand over the next three to five years, in line with the Victorian Government Skills Plan and Clean Economy Workforce Skills requirements.

“Victoria is undergoing a significant transformation, marked by major infrastructure investment, a shift to a clean economy, and evolving occupational requirements,” said RMIT Deputy Vice-Chancellor Vocational Education and Vice-President, Mish Eastman.

“There is a need for hundreds of thousands of additional construction workers in the next five years to meet evolving industry workforce requirements and government initiatives such as the Victorian Big Build.

“In addition to meeting shortages in the workforce, the sector also needs to adopt technology innovation to improve productivity.”

The new Centre will also have an Indigenous name: Murmuk-nganjin marnang, meaning ‘We Work Hands’, following consultations with representatives of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.

It will have a 1700 square-metre footprint that includes a 2.5m-deep sand pit, double height ceilings throughout the workshop and a three-storey training rig that simulates a building during construction.

A modular design will allow for multi-use spaces and zones that can expand and contract as needed.

By splitting the centre into ‘trade zones’, students will learn hands-on skills within view of other trades – leading to a deeper understanding of different trades and how they intersect and complement. Students will learn on simulated work sites (frames, sub floors and roof structures), using the latest tools and equipment.

The building itself will be a learning experience, with its inner workings on display (such as exposed sanitary and water tanks) and access to live technology (such as solar panels). Roof access and other outdoor zones will also be available for students.              

All this will give students a sense of what it’s like to work on a real construction site, in a safe and supported environment.

Roll-in mobile benches with connection to virtual, augmented and mixed reality programs will allow students to safely develop skills before engaging in ‘live’ situations, such as welding.

With its position at RMIT’s Bundoora East campus in the northern corridor, the new facility will also provide a link between students and the opportunities presented by major infrastructure and construction projects in that part of the state, RMIT said.