We are proud to support the development of digital technology skills amongst students in the South-West of Western Australia, in collaboration with the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA and other local mining companies.
The Digital Technologies Program is an initiative designed to boost student awareness and interest in digital technology and potential career pathways. Monadelphous, along with other businesses, invested in classroom kits and training for a total of 17 primary schools and seven secondary schools in the South-West.
General Manager Mining and Minerals Southern Region, Paul Francis, said that increased engagement with digital technologies will ultimately benefit both the students and the mining industry into the future.
“Digital skills and knowledge are becoming even more integral to a wide range of jobs within the resources sector so this program helps to ensure the next generation are equipped with job-ready skills,” he said.
Designed by curriculum and industry subject matter experts, the program supports pre-primary to Year 10 digital technology curriculum requirements and incorporates real-world scenarios to give students practical, hands-on learning experiences.
The students learn coding skills, navigating robots from simple instructions to detailed coded pathways relevant to their year level. They are given challenges within the program to develop their data science and automation knowledge.
The program was first rolled out in the State’s North-West, with more than 1,500 students across 22 schools taking part since 2020. This initial success then led to the program’s expansion in the South-West.
The digital technologies learning area in schools was only introduced into the Australian curriculum as a new subject in 2015, becoming a mandatory subject in 2017. It is great to be a part of upskilling the future generation within this important learning area.
Picture courtesy of Australian Mining.