Axalta Coating Systems is moving its regional training centre to MTA Queensland’s Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence in Brisbane.
Axalta’s Queensland Training Academy will now be located within the MTA Queensland’s corporate head office and training facility at Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane. This new partnership will see the two entities work closely together in developing training programs that will proactively attract new talent to the industry. The centre is conveniently positioned to easily provide accessibility for those travelling from all parts of Brisbane, the Gold Coast (to the south) and the Sunshine Coast (to the north). It will become a key training destination for customers in the Queensland & Northern NSW regions.
The training centre boasts over 500m2 of dedicated refinish training space. It is equipped with two state-of-the-art downdraught spraybooths with full-length glass walls to optimise unrestrictive viewing for application techniques and demonstration training. There are two paint mixing rooms – showcasing Axalta’s three premium brands, Standox™, Spies Hecker™ and Cromax™ – a functional production planning room and two dry sanding and preparation bays.
A range of face-to-face courses will be run at the Axalta Training Academy, which has several training rooms that can cater small groups of two to four, up to larger groups of 20 or more, and incorporates the unique “Innovation Hub”, where group meetings and smaller conferences can be held. Axalta’s Drivus™ business services program will also host a range of management training and education programs from this facility.
“Axalta’s new Training Academy highlights our commitment to supporting customers with training at a local state level,” said Paul Polverino, Axalta’s National Training Manager. “Face-to-face training is still an important element of helping our customers drive productivity and efficiencies in the paint shop, and we cannot wait to get training courses started”.
Stephen Morris, Axalta’s Territory Business Manager for Queensland, adds “The opportunity to relocate within the MTA Queensland facility was too good to pass up. With industry skill shortages a critical focus for both Axalta and MTA Queensland – who are the leading automotive industry body in Queensland – we plan to work together to develop and deliver programs that will attract new people to the trade.”
Says Rod Camm, Group Chief Executive Officer of MTA Queensland, “This collaboration is a fantastic opportunity to ensure we are delivering access to the latest training methods and innovations for the entire Queensland refinishing sector. We are incredibly excited to work closely with Axalta to provide industry-leading workforce skilling solutions while also upskilling our own team of technical trainers.”