Loss of dairy training a blow for students
Provision of education programs for Gippsland’s agriculture students this year remains under a cloud despite continuing talks.
Managing Director of Gippsland-based Federation Training Jonathon Davis said preliminary discussions with key stakeholders were underway and that further discussions with Goulburn Ovens TAFE (GOTAFE) and Dairy Australia would be held in coming weeks.
Headquartered at Shepparton, GOTAFE has provided agricultural training for Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) students, certificate level and diploma courses and shorter industry specific courses through Victoria but announced late last year it was withdrawing from all but its own region.
It has provided dairy industry training since 2005 in partnership with Dairy Australia.
DA’s announcement in November that it was “transitioning” to a new national training network, DairyLearn, in 2018 led to GOTAFE realigning its strategic focus to the communities and industries in north-east Victoria.
DA claimed DairyLearn would expand its provider network to incorporate new “best fit” providers in all regions.
In Gippsland, GOTAFE is closing campuses at Warragul and Leongatha although it has asked Baw Baw Skills Centre, that provides accommodation for it at its Wills St, Warragul, complex, to extend its lease until the end of March.
Hundreds of students in Gippsland will be impacted and as many as 12 GOTAFE training staff in the region are likely to lose their jobs.
The State Opposition has called for the government to intervene.
Shadow Minister for Training, Skills and Apprenticeships Steph Ryan said that with Gippsland’s Federation Training not currently offering agriculture courses the government needed to detail what would be done to ensure students can complete their courses.
She said the situation was a sign of instability in training in Gippsland where she claimed Federation Training’s work force was cut by one-third during the first year of the government’s current term and students contact hours had dropped by 700,000 a year.
Member for Narracan Gary Blackwood said there was a lot of uncertainty for students about whether they’d be able to transfer to other providers or if they’d be refunded course fees they’d paid in advance.
He said the loss of training was a big blow to the region given the number of dairy farms and the job opportunities they provide.
“Young dairy farmers I speak to continue to impress on me the importance of educating themselves not just through practical on-farm work but also by complementing their learning with a TAFE course,” said Mr Blackwood.
“The Minister for Training Gayle Tierney needs to come out and detail what she and the Andrews Government will do to assist students who have been left in limbo by this decision.”