New Advanced Manufacturing Skills Training Centre for Victoria

30 Jul 09

Carlton's distinctive 1968 George Thompson building is set for a $13.8 million makeover to boost practical, advanced manufacturing skills training, an industry directly employing 326,000 Victorians.

Skills and Workforce Participation Minister, Jacinta Allan, will launch RMIT University's Advanced Manufacturing Precinct at the George Thompson Building (B55), City campus, tomorrow.

The Advanced Manufacturing Precinct will bring together applied design and manufacturing streams in one location, opening the doors to new opportunities for innovation and product development.

B55 will be refurbished and extended with an additional rooftop level, providing more than 3500 sq metres of teaching space. The new precinct will deliver cross-disciplinary training to meet whole-of-industry needs by incorporating teaching in engineering and advanced manufacturing technologies, applied design, development, production, marketing and management.

Activities in the new precinct include rapid prototyping and manufacturing, computer integrated manufacturing including automation and systems integration, computer numerically controlled manufacturing and testing of products and materials.

Advanced manufacturing, a $99 billion sector, now accounts for about half of Australia's manufacturing output and includes automotive, aerospace, machinery, tooling, medical, instrumentation, and new materials, including high-performance textiles. Advanced manufacturing is the fastest growing category of exports.

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