In-Depth Education

With the Victorian Government committing to building five new tunnels in Melbourne over the next 11 years, there is an untapped need for safely trained tunnelling professionals.

Leading Victorian vocational education provider, Holmesglen Institute, has therefore enlisted the help of Kubota to safely train the next generation of civil construction workers to take on the important job of building the southern state.

Holmesglen Institute education manager for civil construction and tunneling, Andrew Warrington, said Kubota’s equipment is used every day in all of the major tunnelling and infrastructure projects across Melbourne and it is important students are taught how to safely use them.

“Holmesglen’s Victorian Tunnelling Centre is one of only three facilities in the world, training 2000 local and interstate workers in tunnel construction machinery operations and underground construction safety,” Warrington said.

“Kubota equipment is often the first choice in civil construction. They constitute 36 per cent of the Australian mini excavator market and are the go-to equipment for all major tunnelling projects around Australia.”

Holmesglen currently has a Kubota R065 articulated loader, KX040-4 excavators, a SVL75-2 skid steer loader and a RTVX900 utility vehicle in its training fleet.

Students are trained to use the equipment first with a three-screen simulator before they proceed to practice on the machines in Holmesglen’s simulated tunnel to learn how to use them safely in controlled conditions.

The partnership started with a meeting between Kubota General Manager Sales, Peter Gloury, and Holmesglen Business Development Consultant, Brian Parr. Kubota advised Holmesglen on machines most likely to be used on sites and are most appropriate for students before Homesglen proceeded to order the machines from Kubota dealership, Supergroups. The machines were delivered in late 2019.

The first cohort of Tunnelling Apprentices started in August 2019.

Supergroups Dealer Industrial Sales Representative, Richard Haynes, has been working with Holmesglen since the partnership began, delivering the machines, organising maintenance and assisting with demonstrations and the training of Holmesglen’s staff.

“The training facility is state of the art and provides a safe and controlled environment for students to practise on machines they will use on the job,” he said.

“This training will reduce injuries on the job and improve efficiency and proficiency on site.”

The Victorian Tunnelling Centre, located at Holmesglen’s Drummond Street campus in Chadstone, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, is used in the training of Certificate III in Civil Construction for infrastructure and general construction projects.

For more information and stories about Kubota, visit downtoearth.kubota.com.au