Kudos to UAP and iOrthotics for showcasing career opportunities
This guest post has been provided by Bob Baker, Head of Department ITD and VET at one of our Advanced Manufacturing Gateway Schools, Kedron State High School.
Kedron State High School (KSHS) Year 11 Engineering teachers and students recently visited industry partners, iOrthodics and UAP on an industry excursion to see the science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM) connections to manufacturing.
The students were amazed by the technology they experienced at both work places and got to see firsthand how products are designed and manufactured from inception to production using advanced manufacturing techniques.
At iOrthotics we saw industry experts using with Computer Aided Design (CAD), additive manufacturing (3D Printers), and Laser Cutters used to manufacture orthotics for podiatrists from all over Australia using automated methods.
We enjoyed walking through the workshops at UAP and learning how commercial artworks are produced from start to finish. We particularly liked experiencing the holographic technology allowing large works to be viewed and manipulated before being manufactured.
We were shown by UAP Projects Manager Lewis Humphries how technologies like VR & AR are being used as communication tools to bring together lots of different skills sets required to engineer solutions, before going to manufacture.
We could see how this would increase efficiencies, reduce waste and deliver the best solution and product to the customer. We also saw how these two local manufacturers are global players and there's lots of jobs and skills required by the advancing industry.
Our sincere thanks to Sean at iOrthodics and Lewis and Eddie at UAP for sharing their knowledge and passion. Thanks to Jules and the GISP for providing these great links for our school and students. Industry giving us this couple of hours of their time is invaluable in ensuring we're producing excited life long learners with the appropriate skills for this exciting industry.
Nicole Tinney, VET pathways for KSHS joined the tour reported “Wow! What an awesome day! Technology has changed the way we look at manufacturing and the opportunities for work experience and the career pathways are massive. I highly recommend doing a Gateway tour into industry."