A new $12.5 million addition to the South West Institute of TAFE in Warrnambool was officially opened today by Gayle Tierney, MP, Member for Western Victoria.
The new Building B is the final part of a multimillion dollar upgrade of the TAFE’s Timor St Campus over the past few years.
Building B will provide new purpose built spaces for information technology laboratories, more classrooms, a student services and enrolment centre, administration space and a new main entrance to the campus.
The new building has been designed to be environmentally sustainable – harvesting rainwater for garden irrigation and toilet flushing, solar panels to boost hot water production and energy efficient heating, air conditioning and lighting.
Speaking at the opening, Ms Tierney said the Victorian Government provided $11.3 million for the new building as part of its commitment to strengthening the State’s skills and training system.
“We recognise that investment in the education, skills and training of our people is the single most important thing we can do as a State to ensure a prosperous future,” Ms Tierney said.
“This is why we have reformed our skills system through the $316 million Securing Jobs for Your Future package to make it even more demand-driven and responsive to industry and individual needs.
The Package also delivers over 170,000 new training places and the Victorian Training Guarantee, which for the first time in Australia creates a universal entitlement to vocational education training.
Victoria’s high performing TAFE institutes are a key part of our skills system, and under the Securing Jobs for Your Future – Skills for Victoria reforms, the TAFE sector is being strengthened to ensure they can thrive and expand in a competitive environment.
This new facility is part of how we are helping the South West Institute of TAFE and our other TAFEs to cater for growing demand for training – along with the $12 million announced in last month’s State Budget to help TAFE institutes with specialist teaching equipment in line with industry standards.
This new building will further strengthen the South West Institute of TAFE as one of Australia’s leading skills and training institutions and open up more career pathways for a new generation of Victorians.