Building TAFE SA for the future

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2 Building TAFE SA for the future Minister s foreword The past decade has seen South Australia transformed into a high growth, high skill economy that is competitive in the global marketplace. Despite the recent global economic downturn, the State s economy continues to grow, with around $71.5 billion of major projects underway or in the pipeline. These projects are creating new, skilled jobs every day. The most important challenges that industry and employers will face in the coming years are labour and skills supply. We are going to need more people, with a higher level of qualifications, to drive our growth industries and deliver our major projects. We want South Australia to have the best skilled workforce in Australia. We have undertaken an extensive review of TAFE SA s campuses and are in the midst of a major capital investment program. These changes are only the beginning of a comprehensive plan to transform TAFE SA. The flagship will be the Sustainable Industries Education Centre, a $125 million building and construction education hub to be constructed on the former Mitsubishi Motors site at Tonsley Park. This new Centre will replace outdated campuses at O Halloran Hill, Marleston and Panorama. This is an exciting time for South Australia and an exciting time for TAFE SA. These infrastructure investments will transform TAFE SA to meet the future vocational education and training needs of South Australia. To help meet these challenges and close the skills gap, the State Government has set an ambitious target with our Jobs Strategy. We ve committed to create 100,000 new jobs for South Australia. To make sure we have the right people with the right skills to take on these jobs, we are also investing an extra $194 million over the next six years. Combined with the Productivity Places Program this will deliver an additional 100,000 training places. Hon Jack Snelling MP Minister for Employment, Training and Further Education September 2010 Carrying out the Jobs Strategy will require major reforms to the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Our Skills for All agenda proposes that all South Australians will have a passport to world-class skills through quality training. TAFE SA as the public provider and the largest VET provider in the State is crucial to achieving our objectives. Building TAFE SA for the future

3 Building TAFE SA for the future Creating a highly skilled workforce is essential to building a strong future for South Australia. TAFE SA holds 74% of the market share in vocational education and training in South Australia, training more than 80,000 students in 2009 alone. It stands to reason that TAFE SA can have the greatest impact on skills levels by introducing a new approach to the delivery of training. TAFE SA has made a number of improvements in recent times to the way it serves students, businesses and the community. The three registered training providers, TAFE SA Adelaide North Institute, TAFE SA Adelaide South Institute and TAFE SA Regional, are working more closely with regions and with business sectors to ensure that graduates have the skills that are needed by industry. Training needs are changing rapidly. Industry and the community are demanding a modern and dynamic approach to the way training is delivered, and today s learners expect contemporary, state of the art training in purpose-built campuses. Increasingly, students will be learning both on campus in modern classrooms and workshops, and off campus in their workplaces or online. TAFE Institutes need campuses and support systems that are flexible and responsive to a changing world. Upgrading campus infrastructure is critical if TAFE SA is to be a part of these changes. All South Australians, whether they live in the city or the country, will have access to outstanding campuses designed to meet the needs of a broad range of learners. The next focus for TAFE SA will be on improving infrastructure, both physical and virtual, to enable world class training in world class campuses. Significant investments in infrastructure have been made over the last 12 months which have resulted in upgraded facilities at six campuses and a new campus at Victor Harbor. Revitalising South Australia s vocational education and training system is essential to building a competitive South Australian economy and a society that has opportunities for all. TAFE SA, as the State s leading provider of publicly funded skills training, has an important role in this future. Its ongoing renewal and reinvigoration is critical to the future of South Australia. Welcome to the next step in the journey. 3

4 What we ve done so far Student Information System The financial year saw a major capital investment in TAFE SA s infrastructure. With help from the Australian Government, the State has committed more than $70 million to upgrading and maintaining TAFE SA campuses. The funding has been used for refurbishments at major campuses, including: The State Government is investing $20 million towards a new student management system which will make TAFE SA more flexible and easier to access. This new web-based, self-service system will contain information about all courses and training offered at TAFE SA and will manage student academic and financial records. $8.7 million for TAFE SA Noarlunga Campus, which will lead to a doubling of entry level courses at the campus a $5 million upgrade of the hospitality facilities at the TAFE SA Regency Campus $3 million to establish a centre of excellence in technology at Tea Tree Gully Campus $6.5 million to significantly upgrade TAFE SA Whyalla Campus $3.5 million for two new workshops at Mount Gambier Campus to support the heavy vehicle, carpentry and joinery industries $1.68 million for TAFE SA Whyalla, Port Pirie, Mount Gambier, Berri, Port Lincoln, Roxby Downs and some smaller sites for purchasing and upgrading industrial equipment used for training purposes $700,000 to install energy efficient lights, energy efficient air conditioning and other improvements at the Mount Barker and Mount Gambier campuses $9.4 million on a new TAFE SA Victor Harbor campus, due to be completed in The Student Information System will enable students and industry to engage with teachers and administrators online or on campus, helping them to blend their study, work and family commitments more seamlessly. Using the secure system, a student will be able to check the fees they owe and pay online, enrol as a new or continuing student in a whole course or qualification or individual units of competence, gain recognition for prior studies, check class scheduling (both virtual and physical) and check their academic results and progress towards completing their qualification. As e-learning and blended learning becomes more widespread, the new Student Information System will facilitate online access for students by capturing the results of these online activities. The go-live date for the new system is April The Sustainable Industries Education Centre is the next step in the journey to creating a TAFE SA that will meet South Australia s future skills needs. Building TAFE SA for the future

5 Sustainable Industries Education Centre The centrepiece of TAFE SA s new direction will be a world class, $125 million building and construction education hub to be built on the former Mitsubishi Motors site in a collaboration between TAFE SA,the universities and industry. This state of the art new Centre is intended to bring together TAFE, university and industry sectors for the first time in South Australia. The Sustainable Industries Education Centre will be an integral part of the Tonsley Park redevelopment, housing more than 8000 students and 210 teaching staff per year. Building and construction is a $4.5 billion industry 1, employing 8.3 per cent of South Australia s workforce 2. It accounts for 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. It is also an industry that faces critical skills shortages, with demand for qualifications predicted to increase by at least 30 per cent by TAFE SA currently provides 80 per cent of the industry s trade qualifications, and this new Centre will allow an increase in building and construction course numbers by at least 16 per cent, with new training offered in renewable energy and water operations. The Sustainable Industries Education Centre will become TAFE SA s building and construction training hub, incorporating dedicated, hands-on learning laboratories. The proposed co-location of vocational and higher education with the industry sector will not only give industry ready access to cuttingedge training facilities, but will also give students the opportunity to learn in close proximity to industry as they progress from basic skills training through to higher education. Students will have increased access to education through high speed broadband and e-learning capability, creating a virtual learning environment that encourages collaboration and enables learning from any location. The centre is positioned on a major public transport route, which will be significantly strengthened over the coming years with the development of the light rail interconnections between the north and south of metropolitan Adelaide. The new Centre will better meet the needs of learners and enterprises and will greatly reduce the costs of maintaining publiclyowned campuses. This will ultimately result in lowering the cost per hour of training delivery, and will mean students and industry will see the benefits of stronger, more relevant skills. The Centre will also provide a united entry point for the building and construction industry and will transform the way trade training is delivered, including strengthening pathways between vocational and higher education. The Sustainable Industries Education Centre will be one of the key drivers in achieving Skills for All reforms and will play a key role in delivering on the Jobs Strategy. It is expected that more than 10,000 of the additional 100,000 training places will be for qualifications associated with the building and construction industry, including civil construction and engineering, carpentry and joinery, bricklaying and plumbing. The Centre will also promote sustainable building techniques. New learning programs will ensure the building and construction industry will have a workforce that is capable of implementing the new technologies that will move South Australia to a low carbon future. 1 ABS annual State Accounts (Cat no ) for ABS annual State Accounts (Cat no ) for

6 Contact Details Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology GPO Box 230 ADELAIDE SA 5000 Ph (08) Buildings represented are for demonstration purposes only and may not be indicative of final design. Building TAFE SA for the future September 2010