Edith Cowan University (ECU) has entered an agreement with Albemarle Lithium to provide education and training opportunities for the South West region of Western Australia.
A training hub will be created on ECU’s South West Campus to both support training of new Albemarle personnel and upskill the existing workforce at the company’s Kemerton site.
The partnership will provide work-integrated learning opportunities for ECU students in a wide range of fields including engineering, business, and occupational health and safety.
Kemerton site director Daniel O’Shea recognised the importance of education and training and was proud to partner with ECU with the new Agreement.
“ECU South West Campus is an important training hub, as we onboard our new workforce, during the transition to site. We embrace the importance and value of investing in our people, to ensure the safe and skilled delivery of our new industry to the South-West region,” he said.
ECU South West Campus dean Lyn Farrell said the partnership would nurture a best-practice model of education and training in the region.
“Kemerton is a new exciting project for the South West and we are pleased to have developed a strong relationship with the company that developed it and is the majority owner,” she said.
“Both organisations are committed to working together to enhance education, training and employment opportunities in the South West region.
“This will provide benefits for the broader community to help our region to thrive.”
Along with training and work integrated learning opportunities, the partnership has opened the door for potential research collaborations between the two organisations.
Albemarle is a global chemical manufacturing company which is constructing a lithium hydroxide processing plant at Kemerton Industrial area in the South West region.
The venture has so far created over 500 construction jobs and a further 300 operational roles are expected to be required for the Kemerton plant.
The commissioning of the Kemerton site is expected to start in stages during 2021, and by the end of 2021 the plant is expected to be producing battery grade lithium hydroxide.