Federation University is forging ahead with the creation of an $11 million renewable energy training facility in an effort to capitalise on western Victoria’s wind farm boom.
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The Ballarat Renewable Energy Training Centre will at first be located at FedUni’s Grant Street TAFE centre before ultimately shifting to the Ballarat West Employment Zone.
The school will look to take on between 10 and 30 students as of March next year, equipping them with the Global Wind Organisation’s basic technical and safety training. FedUni sales and engagement manager Bill Mundy said the training centre would allow Ballarat to fully capitalise on renewables growth instead of seeing jobs and training opportunities go elsewhere. There is no existing wind turbine maintenance course anywhere in Victoria.
“Clearly there’s an opportunity for us to capture escaping training dollars which are going from organisations across to international destinations,” Mr Mundy said.
“In the short term we will be looking towards developing our skills and capability so industry understands we’re serious and that we want to partner and it will provide an alternative to sending workers overseas.”
The announcement comes as a host of renewable energy developers prepare to begin operations in the Central Highlands region, with construction of the mammoth Stockyard Hill farm expected to begin at the start of 2019.
Work is also set to begin in the coming year at both the Moorabool and Lal Lal wind farms to Ballarat’s east.
Mr Mundy said tradespeople such as electricians and fitters and turners would be among the first crop of students to undertake the short course next year.
“The whole idea is to initially focus on wind but ultimately to grow to deliver skills across a range of renewable technologies,” Mr Mundy said of the future training centre, which will require funding from either a state or federal government.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Melanie Robertson said the addition of a training facility at BWEZ would allow the region to take full advantage of the shift to renewable energy.
“Within our region, there’s already a significant amount of permitted projects which will be coming online, so it’s about how we leverage the best opportunities from them,” Ms Robertson said.