KEPPEL Prince Engineering and South West TAFE have had a long and productive partnership over the years, and that has never been better demonstrated than in recent weeks – in a way that promises a lot more jobs.

The Portland heavy engineering company and the educator have joined forces in two separate ways.

They have combined to offer a new qualification – a Certificate IV in Industrial Welding – which Keppel also hopes will boost its workforce when wind tower production eventually restarts (perhaps later this this year), and Keppel has also donated a building at its School Rd site for TAFE to run classes for its Certificate III in Engineering Fabrication.

That is necessary because the damage from the January 6 storm has rendered the facility at TAFE’s Portland campus unusable until it is repaired – expected to be about one month to six weeks away.

The new Industrial Welding qualification was born out of need – the idea is to fit students out for the workshop straight away (with no prior experience necessary), and it will be held in the wind tower manufacturing facility at Darts Rd.

“We sat down and at potential support for the broader industry and right now there’s an opportunity for folks with TAFE’s help to offer this,” said Keppel Prince human resources manager David Johnson.

“When people put their hand up and apply for a role with Keppel Prince or others, they can come in and already have some skills to be well suited to industry.”

The course involves a range of things from handling power tools to forklifts (still pending) and safety obligations, with the culmination being working on the big submerged arc boom welders in the workshop.

“The exciting part is while we’re not doing wind towers our workshop will have a South West TAFE shingle on it,” Mr Johnson said.

“We think the program is well suited for heavy engineering.

“It provides an opportunity for a large cohort to go through at a time. At TAFE there is only one boom so hopefully we get a few people on this course who are keen to have a crack at a Keppel Prince job when the time comes.”

TAFE senior engineering educator Kent Barker said the organisation was excited with the new course.

“One of the things we’re really proud of is our consulting with industry to find out what their needs are,” he said.

“It’s been great to partner with David and his crew and tailor a program to meet the needs of local industry.

“The exciting thing for the local community is they will come out with skills relevant for our area.

“Portland being so industrial based it’s great that we can meet that gap.”

The course would run for 26 weeks.

Mr Barker said it was hoped to start “as soon as we can”, probably towards the end of March, and it would be a Free TAFE course, meaning no cost for those eligible.

“Depending on numbers we’re looking to offer a night course as well as during the day, which would suit people wo work during the day and those who are working and looking to upskill,” he said.

There are no prior entry requirements and all ages from school leavers on were encouraged to apply.

“Like anything it’s great if you’ve got some skills but you just have to have that passion to work in the heavy engineering field,” Mr Barker said.

Mr Johnson said it was even hoped to get a third group though if possible.

Keppel Prince executive director Steve Garner said training had always been a big thing for the company.

“When we got underway with VRET we had to train a lot of people ourselves at great expense,” he said.

“Through this training it will be a real bonus for us to be able to pick up new people that have some skills when we get underway again.”

Meanwhile, the Certificate III in Engineering Fabrication will begin with theory work at the Portland campus on Monday before moving out to School Rd until the campus facility is repaired – something Mr Barker said he expected to take between one month and six weeks.

“It’s great to have the opportunity from Keppel Prince to use the site and it’s testament to the community that we can help each other out,” he said.

“It’s quite humbling to have a stakeholder come to is and offer their assistance.

“It’s also good for our apprentices to see things like robotic welding. Some of them come from small workshops so they’ll get the feel of workshops at scale.”

There would also be a tour so students could see what job opportunities were available and “it gives everybody the opportunity to see what they can achieve”.

Mr Johnson said Keppel Prince was happy to help.

“It’s an opportunity to make sure there’s continuity of delivery of education services while South West TAFE can remediate their site”.

● While it has been quiet for the wind tower division, Keppel Prince has been busy hiring staff to fulfil its contract with the Portland Aluminium smelter.

Keppel Prince general manager Peter Chellis said the company had interviewed 45 local young people (18–20-year-olds) in the past month, including 13 last Friday.

“Some have got skills and a lot haven’t got skills but if they’ve got the will we can give them the skill,” he said.