Scholarships on offer for course in simulation

Fully funded scholarships are being offered for Townsville high school students and Defence Force veterans to complete a nationally recognised simulation and interactive technologies qualification.

Cubic Defence Australia will offer at least 30 scholarships for its pilot of the new course under a grant from the Queensland Government’s Advance Queensland initiative.

Cubic’s Senior Director of Strategic Development Mark Horn said the course is the only nationally recognised vocational education and training (VET) qualification for simulation and interactive technologies in Australia.

“The Certificate III in Simulation and Interactive Technologies provides students with the ability to plan, manage, develop and support simulation solutions for training and education challenges across many industries, including Defence and national security, health, mining and transport,” Mr Horn said.

The Certificate III has no prerequisites and is suitable for entry-level personnel from non-technical or technical backgrounds.

While Cubic specialises in simulation-enabled training for Defence, the company is also a registered training organisation (RTO 41256) and developed the course to support workforce growth and professional certification into the future.

The course addresses requirements across a range of industries to respond to the growth and proliferation of simulation and interactive technologies in the workplace.

“We noticed a significant gap in the availability of VET training in simulation at a time when demand to use simulation is growing rapidly,” Mr Horn said.

“There are exciting opportunities in the field, particularly in North Queensland given plans for the North Queensland Simulation Park precinct at Douglas. The interim SPARK is up and running and plenty of exciting work is happening in the region using simulation and modelling,” he said.

Cubic, along with several partners, will showcase how simulation is being used in the region at a free Simulation in the Tropics event on Wednesday 28 August at Smart Precinct NQ.

The event will include presentations from representatives of TAFE, the Australian Institute of Marine Science ReefWorks test range, Townsville Hospital and Health Service’s Clinical Simulation Centre and NQ SPARK.

“These organisations all use simulation or modelling to improve learning and drive better business outcomes. We’ll also share examples of how Cubic uses simulation, and we are privileged to have distinguished educator and Simulation Australasia life member Dr Elyssebeth Leigh joining us as a speaker,” Mr Horn said.

“Dr Leigh is globally renowned and an author of multiple books about the value of simulation in learning,” he said.

Dr Leigh said she welcomed the introduction of the Certificate III course saying demand for simulation had ‘exploded’ for a range of reasons.

“We’re commonly seeing simulation used in contexts where there is increasing risk in work, or miniaturisation of equipment and associated tasks,” she said.

Dr Leigh said simulation is also useful for exploring options and planning further ahead, and it prepares people for work in which there are uncertainties, and being able to respond flexibly is an essential skill.

“Employers are seeking simulation technicians in diverse fields, with many of them listing simulation knowledge as ‘desirable’, seeming to recognise that much of the current knowledge has been through learning on the job. Having a qualification in simulation and the associated knowledge will take applicants to head of the queue,” Dr Leigh said.

“Employers will see it as a great advantage enabling them to place new employees into more senior roles more rapidly because they don’t have to wait for simulation knowledge to be slowly absorbed through work routines.”

More information about the Certificate III in Simulation and Interactive Technologies will be shared at Simulation in the Tropics, along with details of how to apply for the available scholarships.

Details of how to register for Simulation in the Tropics are available at www.cubic.edu.au.