Looking for skills – go to MARS!
Manufacturing is not seen by students, parents and career advisers as a ’sexy’ industry to work in, but MARS is changing that perception. MARS - the Metals + Engineering Apprentice Recruitment Strategy - is selling the message that manufacturing needs a highly skilled, ICT savvy workforce, that many employers prefer trade trained engineers over university graduates and are willing to pay staff to pursue further education; and that manufacturing skills are globally portable.
MARS started in 2003 as an initiative of Australian Industry Group members in Campbelltown, where there were strong partnerships between schools and employers. In its first year the AiGroup recruited 24 apprentices, with a subsequent retention rate of 80 per cent and it now manages the program in conjunction with TAFE NSW, the Catholic Education Office, local school-to-work committees and local metals employers.
While there may be entrenched beliefs that manufacturing is often a hot, dirty, physically demanding and dangerous industry, whose jobs are low paid career dead ends, MARS is now filling apprentice vacancies for participating companies in Sydney’s west who have experienced apprentice shortages for many years.
The program is becoming such a success that it needs more participating employers to match the growing levels of interest among students making well-informed decisions about their future careers. A lot of students are learning that manufacturing pays on average twice the rate of hospitality and retail, and that it is predominantly a day-work industry that pays extra time.
Further information can be sourced through the AiGroup website (www.aigroup.asn.au and insert MARS into Search box) or by contacting Adrian Price, Eric Milne or Gail Silman on 02 9466 5566. China going Green? Item 1: Building boom good for Australia?
In a recent report issued by Austrade, demand for green building technology is on the rise in China, with the country expected to be home to half the world's building construction between now and 2020.
According to the report, without intervention building-related energy consumption is set to double in this time, which has led Chinese authorities to establish a raft of environmentally friendly building plans and policies.
Peter Osbourne, Austrade's country manager for China, says that these trends are creating opportunities in China for Australian businesses offering green products and services. "Not only has the Chinese Ministry for Construction instructed all Chinese cities to cut their building energy use in half by 2010, but there is also a plan to retrofit a quarter of existing buildings to increase their energy efficiency in the same time frame. A wide range of Australian businesses have already achieved success in China, such as PTW Architects, co-designer of the award-winning energy-efficient 'Watercube' National Swimming Centre, which will be used at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games," he said.
Since 2001, when licensed manufacturing got underway in China, Rapidwall, a low-cost prefabricated walling system, has been collecting the waste product from power generation plants in China. The flue gas gypsum, which is produced as a result of desulphurisation, is turned into plaster and subsequently into the Rapidwall product, thereby helping clean up the environment. Rapidwall has been used for a variety of buildings in China, including community centres, factories and supermarkets, as well as residential townhouses, village houses, terraces and apartment complexes.
Australian companies are also meeting the demand in the energy-saving retrofitting industry. IIum-a-Lite, a designer and manufacturer of energy-saving products for fluorescent lighting, set up a joint venture (JV) in China three years ago, which is now, according to reports, rivalling its Australian parent company in turnover and profit.
In the busy tourist hotspot of Macau, Victorian-based company EnviroBond, a manufacturer of carpet underlay made from recycled PET bottles has installed its product into the new six-star Crown Casino which opened last year. More than 14,000 square metres of the environmentally friendly underlay was used on gaming floors and in guest rooms. Made from 17,000 tonnes of PET fibre, the underlay is also fully recyclable and contains no volatile organic compounds.
(Story sourced from www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au ) China going Green? Item 2: Clean coal agreement
Australia and China have signed a formal international agreement for clean coal research. The agreement between CSIRO and China's Thermal Power Research Institute (TPRI) will see TPRI install, commission and operate a post combustion capture (PCC) pilot plant at the Huaneng Beijing Co-Generation Power Plant as part of CSIRO's research program. The pilot plant is designed to capture 3,000 tonnes per annum of CO2 from the power station and begins the process of adapting this technology to evaluate its effectiveness in Chinese conditions.
The Federal Government is supporting CSIRO’s clean coal research through a $12 million grant, $4 million of which supports this work in China. CSIRO is also undertaking PCC research with a $5.6 million project in the Latrobe Valley, which focuses on brown coal.
For further details: www.csiro.gov.au/science/Coal Ash for cash - a large new resource?
It is time Australia stopped treating fly ash from coal-fired power generation as a waste and started to regard it as a valuable resource with many end-uses. That's the view of Professor Colin Ward of the CRC for Coal in Sustainable Development and University of NSW, after years of investigating the make-up of Australia's coal ashes.
"Australia's 40 power stations produce 12-13 million tonnes of fly ash a year, only a sixth of which currently goes to economic products like cement and concrete. Most of it is currently used as landfill and is both a cost and a lost opportunity. There is a lot more we can do with fly ash," he said
The ash is suitable for a range of valuable applications including improving acid or sandy soils, production of synthetic zealots, as a solution to the intractable problem of acid mine drainage, and as backfill to stabilise former underground and open-cut mines.
"Fly ash usually acts as a form of cement and you can also produce concrete products and different types of aggregate from it for a host of end-uses. Using fly ash for these purposes also means we do not need to mine and burn as much limestone for cement production, reducing limestone use as a source of greenhouse gas emissions."
However the current regulatory environment, industry and public attitudes still treat fly ash as a waste, which has prevented people from appreciating its potential value as a resource, he adds. Most fly ash is currently dumped in dams or used as landfill close to power stations. However, some power stations and coal mines in Queensland and WA have begun to appreciate its value as mine backfill, setting a new trend for the industry in sustainable use of former 'waste' materials.
Up to half of Australia's fly ashes are alkaline, which offers scope for their use in correcting problems such the growing acidity of the nation's agricultural soils, or acidic water draining from metal sulphide mines. The ability of flyash to soak up water also makes it promising for helping to 'drought-proof' sandy soils by making them more absorbent.
More information: Professor Colin Ward, CCSD and UNSW, 0402 451 594 or 02 9385 8718 or www.ccsd.biz
(Story supplied by Glen Moore, Director of Wollongong Science Centre and Planetarium www.sciencecentre.uow.edu.au) Kicking or pitching to attract the right funds?
Kickstart – Capital for Growth workshop with Lisa Nolan of Strategon, aims to assist participants to build a vision and business case for future growth, exploring investor “hot spots” and different funding options so they can create a successful funding proposal. It aims to provide participants with valuable insights into:
• Funding sources
• Understanding the financier’s perspective – what their needs are
• Knowing essential elements to the development of your growth strategy
• Developing an investment pitch
• Targeting an investor
• Understanding the process
• Maximising shareholder value
This practical workshop will help you to expedite access to funds for your business or venture. Register by e-mailing your company and contact details to dsrdparramatta@business.nsw.gov.au Your Ideas, Innovations or Events?
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