Ai Group is leading and managing a new Industry 4.0 Higher-Level Traineeship in South Australia.
Ai Group’s Tim Cornish explained that the Higher-Level Traineeship utilises the Diploma of Applied Technologies qualification and is based in part on the UK Higher Apprenticeships model. In the UK employers rated higher level apprentices ‘25% more employable’ than students who took a traditional institutional pathway into work.
The Industry 4.0 initiative is based on the need to train tradespeople and technicians with a greater level of digital and technological skill than currently exists in the workforce.
The new skills include:
• Working in Industry 4.0
• Commissioning a Cyber Physical System
• Producing components using CAD and CAM technologies
• Problem-solving using PLC-based control systems; and
• Troubleshooting digital control systems.
There are also electives that cover skills in analysing big data; applying project lifecycle management processes,
and working safely with collaborative robots.
The Higher-Level pathway is aligned with the vocational title of Engineering Technician Level V, and approved by
the South Australian Training and Skills Commission as a Declared Vocation with nominal contract duration of
36 months. This means it is formally declared as a traineeship.
Trainees are expected to attend blocks of training of one or two weeks duration, with about eight to nine weeks
total training each year for the three years.
Skills Lab and Flinders University at Tonsley, TAFE SA at the Regency Park Campus, and the workplace will
collaborate in the delivery of training.
The Industry 4.0 traineeship is ideal for existing workers with a trade background who want to add an additional
layer of digital skills to their strong trade skills, or for engineers and procurement experts who want to update their
understanding of these types of technologies.
