The Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) is switching to virtual teaching to assist students, teachers and parents, with children learning from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).
QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said the Academy had been working with the Queensland Department of Education and teachers to deliver the educational content remotely, with direct links to the Australian curriculum, when term two starts today Monday 20th April for the majority of schools.
"Technology is the great connector during these challenging times and the QMEA will continue to deliver its services to students in the south east and the regions through virtual classrooms," Mr Macfarlane said.
"QMEA will deliver the educational content using the capability of the QRC led national minerals and energy education portal www.oresomeresources.com as well as through interactive webinars and online videos to teach students science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects and tips to enter the essential trades in our industry. "
The QMEA will offer additional access to more educational resources and online experiences to assist teachers in understanding the skills needed in our sector and the teaching and learning of minerals and energy.
QMEA is the education arm of the QRC and partners with 75 schools across the State with the help of industry professionals and is Australia's largest industry and government educational partnership.
"The latest data provided by the Queensland Government shows that almost 22 percent of QMEA students who finished school in 2018 and went to university began studies in engineering and related technologies last year, compared with 15 percent of students in non-QMEA schools," Mr Macfarlane said.
"And, 5.2 percent of QMEA students entered a mining field compared with 0.2 percent of non-QMEA students.
"Most pleasingly, 4 percent of Indigenous students in QMEA schools entered mining careers, compared with just 1 percent of non-QMEA Indigenous students.
"And, 13 percent of QMEA female students in apprenticeships went into the mining sector compared with 2 percent of non-QMEA females.
