TAFE Gippsland's new Port of Sale campus addresses skills shortage in regional Victoria

After 10 years of planning, the new TAFE Gippsland campus is up and running at the Port of Sale, allowing more regional students to participate in vocational education and training in person or remotely.

The $25 million campus has been offering courses since May this year in automotive, building, engineering, carpentry, allied health, aged care, childcare and hairdressing.

It is intended to address local education and training needs in critical sectors experiencing skills and worker shortages.

"We've had a campus out at Fulham, which is about 11kms out of town, which was a little aged," Peter Quilligan, Chief Operating Officer at the new Port of Sale campus, said.

"We were looking at bringing the campus into town, just to increase the accessibility for students and the community, and also to have some specifically designed space for trades, early childhood and health courses." 

Mr Quilligan said the appeal of heading off to Melbourne to study had been somewhat dampened by high rents and compromised social connections due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead, he said many more young people were opting to enrol in regional training courses and build careers in their home towns.

"Our primary target is to service the Wellington Shire and surrounds. So we're really looking at supporting local industry, local employers, local students," Mr Quilligan said.

"Obviously with the Port of Sale, we've got a big emphasis on trades. Trades is really hands-on, practical work, so we've got the latest technologies in our engineering workshop, in our automotive workshop and in our carpentry workshop."

The modern TAFE provides an interactive simulation of the real-world workplace environment, incorporating theory and practical learning.

The early childhood training facility at the new campus is kitted out to resemble a functioning daycare centre with kids' tables, chairs, books, toys and activities.

Likewise, the hair and beauty classroom is furnished with hair-washing basins, makeup chairs and mannequins.

The adjacent aged care classroom is fitted with hospital beds, hoists and even a disabled toilet to train students in the correct technique to safely move patients.

"We want to make sure that when our students walk into the workforce [they] are well prepared," Mr Quilligan said.

Across the quadrangle from the café, a pavilion houses trade workshops for automotive, engineering and carpentry courses.

Workplace stations are equipped with machinery such as computerised laves and mills, plasma cutting technology, and hydraulic and pneumatic testing machinery. There is even a sheltered deep sandpit out the back, where students can practise setting foundations and trenching.

With 150 apprentices currently enrolled at the campus, TAFE Gippsland also supports the vocational training curriculums of local schools.

"We offer certificate two, three and four here at the Port of Sale, so some of the courses are quite short and you can enrol in one unit if that's what you want. Apprenticeships last three years," engineering teacher Shane Warford said.

In comparison to the TAFE Gippsland campus at Fulham, the Port of Sale location is much more accessible via public transport and Sale's central business district.

Besides a new world of automated machinery and internet technologies revolutionising the way trades are taught, Mr Quilligan believes the way that learners actually want to receive their education and training has changed too.

"We've tried to cater for all types of delivery.

"We use the latest technology in relation to smart boards and video conferencing, so we have online offerings, remote but interactive offerings, or you can come into a traditional classroom and learn there as well," he said.

Such flexibility will enable more students with physical attendance barriers, such students with young children, work or other time and distance commitments to actively participate in TAFE education and training.

"The pandemic has taught us how quickly we can move in that regard," Mr Quilligan said.

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