CICA AND TAFE NSW TRAINING
TAFE NSW TRAINING WITH LIEBHERR TAFE NSW recently took delivery of a 55t Liebherr all terrain. The acquisition is designed to enhance the learning experience of students enrolled in the Civil Construction Certificate III Crane Operations CPC32920. TERRY SAWAQED IS THE HEAD TEACHER for Civil Construction Cranes at TAFE NSW Nirimba in Western Sydney. He explained the background to the purchase of the crane and why it will make such a difference to the students. Terry and Tony’s manager, Samuel Fairweather, recognised that if TAFE wanted to be taken seriously in the industry, a serious industry crane was needed. Fairweather worked with CICA and other industry partners to ensure TAFE purchased a crane that met their needs. “Working with the Crane Industry Council of Australia [CICA] and other
valued partners, we took the decision to build on the Certificate III in Cranes program. In previous years we’ve had to hire in the crane for training. “We recognised hiring the crane in has not been an efficient way to manage the course and it hasn’t benefitted the students or the employers, because we’ve only had the cranes here on a bespoke basis. So, TAFE NSW made the decision to purchase its own 55t capacity all terrain, which is a Liebherr LTM 1055-3.2. This will be a dedicated crane, permanently located in the Western Sydney Region, servicing here
TAFE’s Tony Garard and Terry Sawaqed flanked by Jake and Gary from Coffs City Cranes. 24 / CAL March/April 2022
in Quakers Hill and available for our training courses. “We have been collaborating with CICA to encourage more trainees to sign up to the course. There are 23 units in the course, including seven high risk tickets. It’s designed for trainees, and we are hoping it moves into an apprenticeship realm, which will be beneficial to employers because funding and the grants become more attractive. At the moment we are seeing a healthy advance in enrolments on the course, and they are coming from all over the state,” said Sawaqed. At the time of launching the news of the dedicated crane, TAFE NSW had two trainees, Jake and Gary from Coffs City Cranes, being put through their paces. Gary had his first experience of sitting in the seat of a crane here and hopes to use skills learnt here to benefit his employer. Tony Garard is their teacher. Tony has many years of experience in and around civil construction and cranes, and is highly experienced with what it takes to achieve the required certifications. “Having the crane here permanently means the students will get more exposure to the crane all of the time. Previously, we were hiring the crane for specific elements of the course like the Crane C6 unit. We now have the crane available for the non-licensing units like communication, plant, and for measurements and calculations. The trainees are in the classroom with the theory, and they are then out here with the crane putting the theory into practice,” said Garard. “Having a crane here full time is going to make such a difference to the trainees’ experience during the course. Instead of having a crane here www.cranesandlifting.com.au
