The Andrews Labor Government is ensuring all Victorians have access to high quality training no matter their background, through the Skills First TAFE Community Service Fund.
Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney today joined students and staff at The Gordon to announce the TAFE is receiving $2.89 million from the fund and to launch the second wave of the TAFE Victoria campaign.
Community Service funding helps TAFEs to support students finish their training and secure a job by funding counselling, welfare and library services, as well as language, literacy and numeracy programs.
The Gordon will use $578,000 to continue the good work of its Skills and Jobs Centre, based at Westfield Geelong.
Since it opened last year, the centre has helped more than 2,000 people get the training and career support they need to find a job or to move into further training.
The centre has been instrumental in helping former Ford workers find a new job and move into training since the Ford plant closed.
The money will also support the TAFE’s Geelong Technical Education Centre, which offers an alternative senior education pathway for young people at risk of disengaging from mainstream schooling.
The program incorporates the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning with Certificate II or III level training in areas such as building and construction, mechanical trades, community services and creative design.
It also includes on-the-job work skills training with employers through Structured Workplace Learning, School-based apprenticeships or Traineeships.
The TAFE Victoria campaign, which is now in its second year, showcases TAFEs located across the state offering Victorians more than 500 courses and the key to a wide range of career options and opportunities.
The TV commercials feature TAFE Ambassador Francoise Zaninka, who studied a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care at The Gordon.
The campaign also builds the 12 standalone TAFEs and four dual-sector universities as a collective brand that delivers for individuals, industry and the Victorian community.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney
“Community Service funding is helping local TAFEs keep students on track to finish their training to get the job they want.”
“TAFEs like The Gordon are the engine rooms for jobs, and it is where Victorians come to get the skills they need for the jobs of today and the future.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Geelong Christine Couzens
"Geelong apprentices, trainees and workers in transition deserve access to high quality training on their doorstep, and that's exactly what our Skills First TAFE Community Service Fund is delivering."
Reviewed 19 August 2020