South West TAFE wants to partner with Deakin University to reinvigorate the Sherwood Park campus.
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Chief executive officer Mark Fidge revealed interest in a joint venture saying the education provider’s strong student numbers and course offerings could be used to help Deakin. He said enrolments at the campus could be re-built in the short-term under a dual-provider, TAFE-university, partnership model.
TAFE is seeking talks with Deakin University about such a partnership.
“I am seeking urgent discussions with Deakin Vice Chancellor Professor Jane den Hollander to begin exploring the many options available to keep both these institutions strong in the community,” Mr Fidge said.
“South West TAFE aims to provide the very best in vocational training, with real job outcomes for our students.
“We believe our community also deserves the very best in terms of university education being made available to them and Deakin provides top-tier university outcomes.
“This is what regional communities deserve.
“I am so positive about the future of higher education and training in this region and I believe there are a range of models we can pursue that will result in the best outcome for our local community, Deakin and South West TAFE.”
Mr Fidge said South West TAFE had also been through difficult times in the past.
In 2012 TAFE endured a tumultuous year when more than 50 staff were made redundant and $2.7 million was cut from its budget.
“We’ve navigated our way out to become the region’s leading educator by being responsive to community needs and industry needs,” Mr Fidge said.
“We believe we can help Deakin better respond to regional needs in order to bolster their numbers for their Warrnambool campus to become sustainable.”
There are 6000 students enrolled at TAFE this year and the education provider employs more than 350 staff.
“Our 350 diploma-level students this year give Deakin a real opportunity to benefit from our success by feeding into Deakin’s high quality tertiary offering,” Mr Fidge said.
“And this is just the start – our students are ready to move into higher level courses in nursing, accounting, visual arts and early childhood education and Deakin is the perfect next step if we can build new student pathways for this region.”
Strong demand for courses such as nursing at South West TAFE meant that 134 students were not able to be accommodated in 2016.
The education provider has three campuses with courses offered at Warrnambool, Hamilton and Portland.
