Weir Minerals collaborated with TAFE New South Wales to customise a traineeship program that focuses on rubber lining skills and knowledge.
Graduates of the course will get a Certificate III in Surface Preparation and Coating Application.
The national program includes face-to-face training delivered by TAFE NSW instructors, online assessments for theory knowledge and practical assessments in their workplace.
Experienced rubber liners are expected to be able to complete the training within two years and it should take beginners about three years to achieve certification.
Rubber lining is widely used in the mining industry as an economical way to increase the life of plant and equipment.
Weir Minerals quality assurance and training officer Darryl Crawford said rubber lining was a highly specialised task that required experience and proper training.
"The installation of a protective coating by untrained applicators can lead to very expensive failures resulting in unplanned downtime for repairs and relining, or even a catastrophic failure of the critical equipment," he said.
TAFE NSW industrial painting and blasting head teacher Ian Squire said Weir Minerals employees across Australia would undertake training in the Certificate III that had been specifically tailored to rubber liners.
"The course will provide Weir Minerals trainees with in-demand skills such as laying-up rubber lining and lag pulleys, cutting polymer materials and preparing surfacing for coating," he said.
The course will run in Australia in conjunction with Weir Minerals' global training program.
