WA mining giant Rio Tinto has partnered with the State Government to offer formal qualifications in automated operations.

Through TAFE people will now be able to enrol in a Cert IV in Autonomous Control and Remote Operations, allowing them to use technology designed to be operated remotely from Rio’s Perth control centres.

Rio chief Chris Salisbury says they’ve been working towards automation over the past 10 years by re-training and re-skilling workers.

“We know from talking to our own people that they also want to ensure that they receive the theoretical training but also to gain a national recognised qualification that makes them ultimately more effective in their job and more marketable between other parts of the resource sector and across other sectors as well,” Mr Salisbury told Gareth Parker.

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