The Andrews Labor Government is rebuilding Victoria’s struggling TAFE system, with Bendigo Kangan Institute to share in the first $20 million of emergency funding to save campuses at risk of collapse.
Visiting the Bendigo Campus today, Minister for Training and Skills, Steve Herbert, said Bendigo Kangan Institute was one of seven TAFEs eligible for fast tracked funding from the $320 million TAFE Rescue Fund.
The fast tracked funding will help TAFEs in financial turmoil to stay afloat, so they can retain staff and improve training, courses and job opportunities for students.
The Labor Government’s $320 million TAFE Rescue Fund is the first step to repairing our TAFE system after the previous Coalition Government’s TAFE cuts brought the sector to its knees.
The TAFE cuts hit Bendigo Kangan Institute hard, resulting in job losses, course closures and a declining share of the training market, meaning fewer local students got the skills they needed.
The funding announced today comes in addition to the Labor Government’s $7.8 million investment in a new, state-of-the-art agriculture centre at the Institute’s Bendigo Campus.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Training and Skills, Steve Herbert
“The Coalition’s TAFE cuts made it so much harder for our kids to get skills, get a job and build a better life.”
“The Labor Government is rebuilding our TAFE system and rescuing campuses like Bendigo Kangan, so young people in Central Victoria can get the skills they need for the jobs they want.”
“This is an emergency. There are TAFE campuses across Victoria on the brink of collapse and our TAFE Rescue Fund will keep them alive.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020