Komatsu Australia has launched a program to help develop young talent and showcase the diverse range of opportunities available in the mining and construction sectors around the country.
Unveiled during the recent National Skills Week, the program targets school and university students and recent school leavers. It will include initiatives like promoting STEM directly through schools, technical workshops and seminars tailored to students and educators, work experience and placements throughout Komatsu, and partnering with educational organisations to help develop curriculums and hands-on learning experiences to raise awareness of the roles and opportunities available.
Komatsu Australia’s General Manager for People Experience, Zara Carey, said the program would help prepare the next generation of industry leaders with the skills they need for a future in heavy equipment or mining.
“Often people think the only jobs available in heavy industries are for mechanics or service technicians, but as our sector embraces more technology and innovative solutions, our workforce is shifting, too. We’re seeing a stronger focus on STEM opportunities, and we want to demonstrate this variety of career options available to the youth of today,” she said.
“Komatsu is a unique workplace as we offer multiple pathways for employment. You might start in a hands-on role, but often can shift sideways or upwards to a more managerial or technical role, such as analytics engineering, data science or software development. This is what we want our young talent program to promote, that there are different opportunities out there that school leavers might not know of, and Komatsu could just be the place for you.”
During National Skills Week, which ran in the last week of August, Komatsu partnered with educational organisation STEM Punks to deliver a workshop for students in years 7-9, where they got to learn about autonomous vehicles and the data and technology that drives them, testing it in real time with simulations and challenges.
“We started and ended National Skills Week with these two workshops at our Innovation Hub in Brisbane. The students learnt about sensor systems, wireless communication, cloud data, and Komatsu’s intelligent Machine Control (iMC), and how to code and apply these new skills to control a robot platform,” Zara said.
“We’re excited to offer this program in partnership with STEM Punks, and to get our wider youth program underway throughout National Skills Week, as we look to support a future workforce equipped with the technology and skills they need to progress in their careers.”