Fitting Out a Trades Training Workshop: Lessons from Wintec

Trades training workshops are some of the hardest-working spaces in education. Benches carry heavy loads, storage is opened hundreds of times a day, and the layout has to support teaching as well as pro­duc­tion. The En­gi­neer­ing and Trades Facility at Wintec in Hamilton, New Zealand, is a useful example of how to get it right. Read the full Wintec case study.

The brief at Wintec

Wintec's facility was built for project-based teaching, with au­to­mo­tive, welding, fab­ri­ca­tion, en­gi­neer­ing, plumbing, elec­tri­cal, carpentry and con­struc­tion sharing flexible, open workshops. The fit-out went to tender against a tight standard and had to be specified in detail, then installed to a short program. Boscotek was selected. (The systems were designed and man­u­fac­tured in Australia by Wilson & Gilkes, before Boscotek became part of OPIE Man­u­fac­tur­ing Group.)

Lesson 1: Involve the supplier early

Wintec's Project Manager, Katherine MacGillivray, put it this way:

"Boscotek at­ten­dance and input into the planning meetings was in­valu­able. Their con­tri­bu­tion allowed Wintec to get the best value for money, un­der­stand­ing where best to spend and where to simplify our approach."

Early in­volve­ment lets the supplier suggest where heavy-duty spec­i­fi­ca­tions are essential and where a simpler option will do. That's how value for money is won.

Lesson 2: Design for flex­i­bil­i­ty

Open, shared workshops change from class to class. At Wintec, mobile metal drawer cabinets on castors, with tray tops and par­ti­tioned drawers, moved with the class instead of locking tools to one wall. For any multi-trade space, mobile storage keeps the layout adaptable.

Lesson 3: Fit the bench to the student

Students vary in height, and some need lower or higher working positions. Wintec specified heavy-duty work­bench­es with height-ad­justable legs, so each station could be set to the student. Tops were chosen with Wintec for the load and the trade, because a welding bay and an elec­tri­cal lab need different surfaces. See our heavy duty workbench options.

Lesson 4: Keep precision tools visible and protected

In a large open bay, dust and loss are constant risks. Wintec used mobile Flight Line cabinets with clear poly­car­bon­ate roller shutters, giving dust-resistant storage for precision tools while keeping contents visible. Vis­i­bil­i­ty also supports good habits: if a tool's missing, everyone can see it.

Lesson 5: Plan the install window

Education fit-outs usually have to happen between terms. At Wintec, planning and in­stal­la­tion were managed to the program, with the working re­la­tion­ship holding through a short install window. In Australia, the summer break is the main window, which means spec­i­fy­ing and ordering in October and November.

Applying the lessons in Australia

If you're planning a TAFE, school or uni­ver­si­ty trades workshop:

1. Bring suppliers into planning to balance spend and sim­plic­i­ty.
2. Map each trade's needs: loads, tools, cleaning and power.
3. Specify ad­justable benches for shared training stations.
4. Use mobile storage for flexible spaces, and fixed high-density cabinets for stores.
5. Protect precision tools with lockable, dust-resistant cabinets.
6. Lock in orders early to meet the summer install window.

Boscotek still builds the benches and cabinets used in TAFE and uni­ver­si­ty trades fa­cil­i­ties, now man­u­fac­tured by OPIE Man­u­fac­tur­ing Group at Emu Heights in Western Sydney and backed by a 5-year warranty. Explore Boscotek for education and TAFE and uni­ver­si­ties.

Fre­quent­ly asked questions

What load rating should a trades training bench have? It depends on the trade. Welding and fab­ri­ca­tion bays need far more capacity than elec­tri­cal labs. Boscotek Heavy Duty benches are rated to 1 tonne static UDL. Match the rating, and the top, to the heaviest realistic use.

Are height-ad­justable benches worth the cost? For shared training stations, usually yes. They let each student work at a com­fort­able, safe height, and they help with ac­ces­si­bil­i­ty.

How do we stop tools going missing? Par­ti­tioned drawers, labelled positions and visible storage make missing tools obvious. Combine them with a simple end-of-class check.

Can the fit-out be staged over several years? Yes. Boscotek is modular, so later stages match the first.

Planning a workshop? Configure it and download the BIM file or talk to our team.