• Click here for photos – STEM/Mining for code workshop (Years 7&8)
• Click here for photos – STEM and Trade workshops (Year 10)

Over 100 students interested in digital technology, science and trades have been given access to some of the world’s best miners in a series of workshops delivered to Clermont and Capella State High Schools.

The workshops delivered by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA), the education arm of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and Glencore Coal were a mix of hands-on and curriculum-based content.

The QRC’s Director for Skills, Education and Diversity, Katrina-Lee Jones, said the workshops drew on Glencore Coal experts to provide students with content and insights from their local area.

“All QMEA workshops are designed to complement the Australian curriculum in the subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) as well as design technologies,” Ms Jones said.

“From chemistry experiments in the science laboratory, to creating code in the classroom or building circuits in the workshop – all the students were highly engaged and showed equal measures of enthusiasm and skill,” Ms Jones said.

The QMEA workshops delivered across the two schools were:

• Mining for Code – Year 7 students, Capella State High School
• STEM workshop – Year 8 students, Clermont State High School
• STEM and Tradies for a Day workshops – Year 10 students, Clermont SHS and Capella SHS

Human Resources Manager at Glencore Coal, Anthony Exelby, said they were excited to be supporting educational workshops which gave the students a new perspective of the resources sector.

“Our engineers, experienced tradespeople and apprentices have all played a crucial role in assisting the QMEA in facilitating these workshops,” said Anthony.

“Their participation provides a local context to the subject matter, such as demonstrating how coding technology is utilised on site to enhance operations and ensure safety,

“During the Year 10 workshops we have the opportunity to discuss with students various professional and trade roles essential for running a successful mining operation.

“We have a robust apprenticeship and graduate program and the Year 10 STEM and Trades workshop is an excellent opportunity to spark students’ interest in joining our workforce upon completing their studies.”

Students can see the pathway of opportunities ahead of them from trades to technicians and technology experts on the shapeyourfuture website.

The QMEA is a unique industry-led education initiative currently encouraging students to follow a trade or professional career pathway into the resources and energy sector. The QMEA is supported through a partnership between the QRC, industry partners and Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program.