An Australian first building and construction simulation facility has opened in South Melbourne, which is expected to be able to train up to 7,000 building and construction industry professionals and students a year.

 

The Building Leadership Simulation Centre was completed by the Master Builders Association, and was launched by Federal Minister for Skills Senator Chris Evans with the assistance of a $1.9 million investment from the Government.

 

Senator Evans said the centre offered building and construction training to new and experienced workers in a safe and controlled environment.

 

"As part of its drive for higher workforce skills in the building and construction industry, MBA is leading the way with new technology that revolutionises skills training," Senator Evans said.

 

"The centre will help MBA to offer interactive training to thousands of building professionals a year, from apprentices all the way through to project managers.

 

"It creates a virtual workplace where workers can confront many of the challenges faced in construction projects in a risk-free environment and develop the experience they need to deal with those challenges when they face them in the real world.

 

"This is only the third facility in the world to use state-of-the-art, virtual reality simulation technology to provide this kind of training.