Geoff Lyons (Bass, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on the impressive trade training centre projects that I was honoured to open recently in my electorate of Bass. The Dorset Trade Training Centre and the George Town Trade Training Centre were both funded by the Commonwealth’s Trade Training Centres in Schools Program, and the results are something that all should be proud of. The principal of Scottsdale High, Ann Fedyk, which is the location of the Dorset Trade Training Centre, described the funding as a ‘dream come true’ for her students and the wider school community. The facilities that have been provided to these areas, some of which have not received significant funding for 20 or 30 years, are terrific. The schools involved are very appreciative of their new facilities.

The Trade Training Centres in Schools Program is an important element of the Australian government’s Building the Education Revolution, helping to ensure that students have access to quality education and training opportunities. The trades training centres will also provide an opportunity for young people to complete their education and be ready to start work or to gain an apprenticeship. The program will also help to address national skills shortages in traditional trades and emerging industries by improving the relevance and responsiveness of the trade training programs in secondary schools.

Ms Fedyk said at the opening of the Dorset Trade Training Centre:

I can still remember the day we heard that we’d been successful in gaining the dollars—we’d have the money to make our dream of improving the opportunities and training pathways for our children and for adult learners in Dorset a reality. As the students would say ‘it was awesome’.

Ms Fedyk followed by saying:

Perhaps one of the greatest outcomes of this project is that it shows that when we work collaboratively, not only do we succeed in creating the facility that we’re standing in today, but we role model strong and purposeful leadership to the young people in our community. We show what can be achieved by working together and we instil a level of confidence in the fact that despite recent tough times, a bright future filled with possibilities lie ahead.

The praise for the program does not stop here. Principal of Winnaleah District High School, Mrs Sharon Woodberry, said that the construction of the Dorset Trade Training Centre would allow students aged between 16 and 19 who previously had to travel for long distances to access similar facilities the opportunity to study closer to home. For those who do not know, Winnaleah is about an hour-and-a-half drive from Launceston. We know that travel can be a big factor in school retention rates. If these facilities were not available, some of these students might not have been able to further their studies at all.

I was also given the opportunity to open the George Town Trade Training Centre at Port Dalrymple School recently. Again, the feedback was extremely positive and praise was given for the program. In his speech at the opening of the centre, Mr Philip Challis, the principal of Port Dalrymple School, recognised the existing excellent collaboration with local industry and business that has delivered an outstanding program for pathways into training and apprenticeships. That same robust collaboration and contribution of local industry leaders enabled their successful application. Mr Challis summed up the cooperation and relationships that the trade training centres create within local school communities and the broader community very well. He said:

We look forward to the realisation of the vision of our Trade Training Centre consortium; a strong partnership of George Town Secondary schools with industry, business and Polytechnic, that directly engages our local community in provision of expanded education and training options for young people; meets industry training needs for existing and future employees; and allows governance with true consultation and collaboration.

I think that the praise for the program that came from all three principals involved in the Dorset and George Town trade training centres explains the positive outcomes of the program very well. They talk about the positive effects on not only the students but the wider community. The benefits are wide-reaching and help many facets of local communities. (Time expired)