Meeting nation’s tunnelling needs
OVER the years, Malaysia has recorded steady economic progress. Its cities, especially Kuala Lumpur, continue to expand and grow robustly.
However, rapid urbanisation brought about by the influx of job seekers in search of better prospects has put a strain on how people live and commute within dense geographical spaces.
In the case of Klang Valley, this necessitated a public transport solution that will move the masses in an efficient manner and not further contribute to congestion and pollution.
The answer to this was Malaysia’s Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT) that would traverse above ground through suburban neighbourhoods and underground in built-up city areas.
However, building an MRT line underground is a complex job and requires experts, skilled manpower and machinery capable of taking on tunnelling works.
Realising the need for skilled human capital to meet the project’s tunnelling requirements and develop future expertise for this niche field, MMC Gamuda KVMRT (T) Sdn Bhd (MGKT) set up the Tunnelling Training Academy (TTA) in 2011.
TTA is the first tunnelling school in the world to upgrade the knowledge, skills and performance of workers in the tunnelling industry using variable density tunnel boring machine (VD TBM) technology.
To date, TTA has provided training to 1,000 young professionals and skilled workers since the academy started enrolling students in 2011.
The academy is targeting to produce 1,600 highly skilled workers and experts in tunnelling by 2022.
TTA offers three types of training — skills, vocational and specialist that are based on German technology from Siemens and Bosch.
Skills training is for school leavers while the vocational training is for those with experience in technical, mechanical engineering or other niche fields. The specialist or advance training is for qualified engineers.
All programmes — taught in English — are centred on the tunnelling process and the operations of the VD TBM and underscore the importance and relevancy of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) for Malaysian youths who prefer to get started on the job right away.
The duration of the training programmes range from six weeks to three months, in which trainees are enrolled into extensive courses if they show interest to scale up.
Apart from acquiring skills that are in high demand, recruits enrolled in the academy are also equipped with handson experience when they are directly involved in underground works for the MRT including mastering the operations of the VD TBM.
While its primary role is to help the country revolutionise the construction industry, TTA will also help the government reduce dependency on foreign expertise by upskilling local talents with tunnelling knowledge.
TTA’s role and responsibility have become increasingly relevant in realising the government’s vision to develop the nation.
Its training modules are internationally recognised after the academy was invited to train engineers from India on the operations of the TBM. The academy has also received training requests from Vietnam and the Middle East.
Among the characteristics of TTA includes its emphasis on the importance of occupational safety and health, specialisation of training modules, job exposure, professional facilitators, well-equipped training facilities and employment benefits.
MGKT manager Salehudin Md Shaarani said he is proud of graduates from the academy, who are currently working on the MRT project. Due to their skills, TTA graduates are also sought after by international construction firms.
“I am grateful to be given the opportunity to train the younger generation on the skills and knowledge of the tunnelling industry. They have shown great commitment and passion by putting their skills and knowledge into practise.
“As a student of TTA who underwent specialist training, I am proud to count the tunnel crew as my fellow trainees after witnessing first-hand how they have become experts in tunnelling works,” said Salehudin when met at the construction site for the Bandar Malaysia North MRT station here, recently.
TTA, he said, deserved to be recognised as the pioneer for TVET since the academy has successfully produced skilled human capital in a niche industry.
“Works involving tunnel construction is intricate and the process has become sophisticated since we are using the latest technology in our MRT projects. This has resulted in increased demand for engineers, technicians, operators, mechanics and electricians in this sector.
“The academy is not only upskilling the local workforce but we are also providing them with a competitive edge in the global market,” he said adding that some of the graduates have found jobs in other countries like Singapore.