Senator visits TAFE
TAFE Gippsland Warragul students reinforced the value of free courses when Victorian Senator Jess Walsh visited the campus recently.
Senator Walsh toured the campus and students showed her their training spaces and talked about how access to free TAFE had impacted them.
TAFE Gippsland acting chief executive officer Jeff Pentney said it was an uplifting visit for all involved.
“It was great hearing the students speak to Senator Walsh about how fee free TAFE has helped them break into their industry of interest and look forward to pursuing successful careers in nursing and early childhood education,” he said.
“One of our nursing students, Emily, shared a personal story about her dream of doing nursing for eight years. As a mother, she was struggling to find the time and finances to be able to study, but her dream has been realised with free TAFE. She’s also been able to balance study with caring for her children with the flexible hours available through TAFE.
“Another nursing student, Rachel, spoke about how grateful she is to be able work in the healthcare sector. As the primary income earner for her family, she’s very much looking forward to being able to give back in this space.
TAFE Gippsland’s director of educational delivery Linda Austin and board chair Paul Buckley also met with Senator Walsh, focusing on the supply chain for new energy projects in the region.
“As our energy sector transitions from fossil-fuel manufacturing to renewables and sustainability, we’re working closely with industry to ensure our training options meet the needs of the emerging renewables sector,” Mr Pentney said.
“TAFE Gippsland is at the forefront of adapting training to suit the needs of industry.
“We have also invested considerably in our infrastructure in recent years, to ensure stateof-the-art learning environments for our students and staff.”