Chair In Automation and Future Work Skills

Community EngagementConnect With us

The Chair in Automation and Future Work Skills role was established to focus on the impact of automation on regional cities and communities. The role is funded by our University and BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) to coordinate research, outreach and engagement with relevant industries across Queensland, as well as to drive the development of new innovative training qualifications and courses in automation and new workplace skills beyond the mining sector, including in METS, Agriculture, SMEs and Construction.

The purpose of the partnership between BMA and the University is to bring people and resources together to unlock and accelerate skills, training and educational outcomes for the future in the communities of which they are part.

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Pictured: Rob Brown, Associate Vice-President (North Queensland), BMA Chair – Automation & Future Work Skills, Director - Regional University Centres

Current Projects

The Chair in Automation and Future Work Skills role was established to focus on the impact of automation on regional cities and communities. The role is funded by our University and BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) to coordinate research, outreach and engagement with relevant industries across Queensland, as well as to drive the development of new innovative training qualifications and courses in automation and new workplace skills beyond the mining sector, including in METS, Agriculture, SMEs and Construction.

The purpose of the partnership between BMA and the University is to bring people and resources together to unlock and accelerate skills, training and educational outcomes for the future in the communities of which they are part.

Head over to BMA's YouTube Channel to learn more about BMA Community Contribution - CQUniversity Future of Work.

Identify and map training delivery available for regional communities to fully participate in future work opportunities, as per key recommendation #3 (and #7) of the GW3 Future Employment Study.

Offer micro-credentials (see Queensland Future Skills Partnership) to support digital foundations for the existing workforce, as per key recommendation #2 (a) and (b) of the GW3 Future Employment Study.

Together with stakeholders prepare submission for the Australian Coal Industry’s Research Program (ACARP) Project.

Working with Resources Centre of Excellence on a case study, titled ‘Regional collaboration, the key to community empowerment and workforce transitioning towards I 4.0’.

Industry 4.0 Skills and Education Framework October 2021

The Industry 4.0 Series: The Fourth Industrial Revolution – ‘event horizon’ or ‘horizon of opportunity’ March 2022

The Industry 4.0 Series: Job transformation, skills, and education for I4.0 and beyond - University 4.0 or Indusversity June 2022

The Industry 4.0 Series: ESG – The DNA of business success in the 21st century September 2022

The Industry 4.0 Series: Coping essential to thriving in the 4IR November 2022

The Collaboration, a key to regional transformation. Establishing a formal partnership to support regional communities and develop current and future workforces., May 2022

Embracing Industrial Revolutions – a multi-faceted continuum of change and transformation fuelling ongoing adaptation, August 2021 (academic paper)

Automation at CQU with Rob Brown, Chair of Automation and Future Work Skills

Transcript

Change is always both exciting and a little bit scary and I think an important part of the role of a university is to try to make them more exciting and less scary.

We've done a lot of work in concept with BMA in terms of this role,  we've done  things like come up with series of information papers on industry 4.0 and the sorts of changes that are coming through. We've worked on designing new courses that take advantage of the new technologies are coming out.

We've worked obviously to skill up the workforce that's needed within our community working with organizations of course like the future fit Academy and the Queensland future schools Partnerships both of which are strongly involved with BMA and BHP.

We know that there's going to be a need for metallurgical coal for many many decades to come but even though we a lot of our economy will continue. There are going to be wonderful new opportunities opening up through using the changes in Automation and technology that are coming through.

Obviously, a large part of our role is to make sure that people are trained and skilled to take advantage of these new opportunities that will come out. We're talking about people having jobs that aren't even created yet. We are talking about communities having to change the way in which they operate in many ways and our University is lucky because we have a very clear vision at CQUniversity that we're about helping the people that are in our local environs and for me in Mackay here; that's very much the Greater Whitsundays in the Bowen Basin and by having a partnership with BMA who are also very very strong and good corporate citizens here within the Bowen Basin we can leverage each other's talents and abilities to be able to do much more than we would be able to do individually.

So, having the BMA partnership as part of what we do is critical to being able to go out and hopefully help people to prepare for the future that automation is bringing in a way that sees them looking to take advantage of it rather than to be overwhelmed by it.

CQU | BMA Digital Innovation Skills Hive

The DISH is a place to showcase and promote initiatives that support the collective efforts of industry players and education providers to address the challenges of existing and emerging digital technologies and their impacts on the current and future world of work, workforces, and communities.

Made possible, in part, by the Kevin Greenwood bequest, it is a place where...

  • collaboration between industries and education providers is encouraged and promoted
  • cross-pollination of ideas is facilitated
  • innovative, future-focused solutions for the challenges of an unfolding Industry 4.0 is generated
  • new knowledge in relation to community and workforce transitioning is created
  • the projects of the CIA and its partners are showcased and promoted.

Build your Future

Building a successful and resilient workforce for the future will play a vital part in Australia’s economic recovery. As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic we need to resolve skill shortages in regional areas. Skills development opportunities are here to prepare you to become the regional workforce of the future.

The Queensland Future Skills (QFS) Partnership is led by BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and includes TAFE Queensland and CQUniversity as education partners. The partnership has been working with industry experts, community organisations and government since late 2019 to fast-track responsive co-design and delivery of training to support the implementation of autonomous technology in mining. We are seeking expressions of interest to participate in training, at no cost to participants.

Connect with us

The Chair in Automation and Future Work Skills value its connections locally, in the region and abroad. Our partnerships help us create opportunities and deliver solutions that enhance the automation and technology capabilities of the resource sectors, METS industries and regional communities and aims to build and strengthen an ecosystem of research centres, universities, government, industry players and skills bodies. Connect with us to collaborate or find out more.

Connect with us

Major Sponsor and Partner

The Chair of Automation and Future Work Skills has been made possible thanks to a generous funding package from BMA.

BHP Mitsubishi Alliance logo

Other Partners

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Research Centre of Excellence logo
Greater Whitsunday Alliance logo
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