Victorian Tunnelling Centre

Context

Victoria, Australia has a substantial pipeline of major road and rail projects that include significant and complex tunnelling operations. These projects include the West Gate motorway, Melbourne Metro Rail Tunnel, the Melbourne Airport Rail Link, the Suburban Rail Loop, and the North East Link motorway.
The projects, many of which will be delivered concurrently, require a sizeable workforce trained in specialist skills, particularly tunnelling construction and operation.

Victoria has historically undertaken limited or infrequent tunnelling projects. The unprecedented demand for tunnelling, with an estimated 15 active tunnel boring machines (TBMs) across Melbourne by the mid-2020s, will mean Victoria’s local labour market will be faced with an insufficient supply of workers with the specialist tunnelling skills required to deliver the projects.
The shortage of specialist tunnelling workers is exacerbated by similar major tunnelling projects simultaneously being undertaken in other Australian cities, increasing the demand for workers with these skills to unprecedented levels.

Rail Projects Victoria, a Victorian Government delivery authority, established the Victorian Tunnelling Centre (VTC), based on the Crossrail Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy, London, to offer specialist training in the construction and operation of a variety of types of tunnels, including rail, road, and utilities tunnels.
The centre is aimed at all skill levels from new entrants to career tradespeople and managers, and offers programs of a range of durations including one-day safety inductions and high-risk work licensing programs, to 4-year apprenticeship-based certificate qualifications.
Facilities at the centre include a replica mined tunnel, a replica TBM, and other training facilities including tunnel shaft and concrete lining spray simulators, and a refuge chamber for onsite emergency training.
The funding for the centre was shared across relevant current government projects that use the centre to support their tunnelling activities, including the Melbourne Metro Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, and North East Link.
The VTC formed an Industry Advisory Group, consisting of representatives from industry groups as well as educators, to maintain connections with the tunnelling industry. It aims to ensure that the VTC can respond flexibly to the tunnelling workforce requirements and incorporate international developments while maintaining safety and quality outcomes.

September 2019 – construction commenced
December 2020 – centre opened for short courses to persons already in the construction industry.

The centre will have an immediate impact on the supply of experienced staff with appropriate licensing and specialist skills through the short courses and will have a gradual impact on the supply of apprentices and other junior staff as initial intakes progress through their courses.
Upon announcement in 2018, it was expected that up to 5,000 people would participate in training courses at the VTC each year by 2021, however the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the development of programs that would be offered to members of the general public and contribute to achieving the yearly training goals.
More than 15,000 workers have been trained at the Crossrail Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy, on which the VTC was based. A review found that between 2011 and 2019 the academy generated GBP49 million (USD89.7 million) of gross value added benefits against an investment of GBP12 million (USD16.7 million) and will contribute to the pipeline of major projects within the United Kingdom following the completion of Crossrail.

Tunnelling skills centres have proven critical to developing a local workforce of specialists required to support Victoria’s infrastructure projects, especially given the limited existing workforce.
Similar facilities have found that it is important to engage the industry to develop a realistic workforce supply and demand profile to support the development of skill and training centres.
The Crossrail Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy found that it is necessary to diversify training offerings following completion of the initial pipeline of major tunnelling works. The diversified training supports the transition from a ‘surge training facility’ to a permanent provider of training in a range of specialist construction and operations skills such as rail traction and rolling stock, signalling and telecommunications, control room operations, and asset maintenance systems.

Last Updated: 15 October 2021