Australia’s largest electrical learning centre is taking shape in Western Sydney.

The $75 million EnergyAustralia Learning Centre is under construction in Silverwater with work expected to be completed by early-2011.

The 1.7 hectare state-of-the-art facility will accommodate up to 150 apprentice electricians, line workers and cable jointers training to become front line energy workers.

When complete, EnergyAustralia’s Learning Centre will be the only centre in Australia to have a live substation that can be simulated to run as a city substation, zone substation or distribution substation.

It will also feature a purpose built pole yard, underground cable pits and workshops.

EnergyAustralia is the largest single employer of apprentices in NSW with more than 600 apprentices currently in training.

The Learning Centre will become the headquarters of EnergyAustralia’s smart grid operations and energy efficiency centre.

It will showcase energy efficient technology, with bricks and base material from the original building re-used for the new building.

The new Learning Centre is jointly funded by EnergyAustralia and a $25 million grant from the Federal Government’s Education Investment Fund.

It will re-create the electricity network to train technical workers in new smart grid technologies.