BHP NATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE

In late 2019, BHP committed to establishing a new heavy engineering training centre in Mackay as part of a national apprenticeship initiative to recruit female workers into the field of heavy engineering maintenance. The first cohort of students were scheduled to commence in May 2020.

The fast-tracked pilot project was a first for BHP, with curriculum and requirements being developed in parallel with the infrastructure. The key challenge was to develop an understanding of requirements and confirm through reverse briefing and implement a staged delivery methodology to allow completion of critical infrastructure in time for student commencements.

BGIS carried out a full design and construction package that included a range of facilities tailored to meet the curriculum requirements of BHP, including traditional classrooms, immersive cinemas, virtual reality pods, small and heavy engineering workshops and external works for mobile equipment and hardstand. BGIS managed the project from inception to completion while meeting an aggressive schedule that included town planning and local authority approvals. The project was delivered with two early work stages to meet training requirements.