Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery today announced the introduction of a vocational education and training (VET) program that will create more apprenticeships and traineeships in regional Western Australia.
Fostering strong links between regional TAFE colleges and government, industry and the education sector, the VET Regional Partnerships Program aims to ramp up job growth and build a stronger WA economy.
The program will involve planned and collaborative engagement with regional industry and the community, recognising that local communities are in the best position to understand the challenges and opportunities they face.
Part of the McGowan Government's Plan for Jobs, the program will see North Regional TAFE partner with local resource companies to deliver pre-apprenticeship programs in Port Hedland.
Central Regional TAFE, which covers the Mid-West, Goldfields and Wheatbelt regions, will partner with farm machinery manufacturers and distributors to deliver apprenticeship and training programs.
South Regional TAFE will team up with South Metropolitan TAFE to deliver electrotechnology training in the South-West.
A partnership also now exists between the Muresk Institute in Northam and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Department of Education and the Food, Fibre and Timber Industries Training Council. Through this partnership, thousands of high school students will be shown the diversity of careers available across the agriculture, fisheries, forestry and food industries.
In addition, all WA TAFE colleges will share their resources including the co-design and delivery of their education and training programs.
Other initiatives contributing to regional prosperity include the Lower fees, local skills scheme which has seen course fees halved for 34 targeted qualifications, and the Jobs and Skills WA Employer Incentive which is helping small business owners with the cost of hiring a new entrant trainee or apprentice.
TAFE facilities in Broome, Karratha, Rockingham and Bunbury will also be upgraded as part of the Lower fees, local skills initiative to support National Disability Insurance Scheme training.
More information about training opportunities in regional Western Australia is available at https://www.jobsandskills.wa.gov.au
As stated by Education and Training Minister Sue Ellery:
"These regional partnerships support the State Government's plan to increase the number of jobs in regional WA by 30,000.
"More jobs will create strong regional economies which, ultimately, benefits all Western Australians.
"This program is a great example of how we are ensuring regional TAFEs are delivering training opportunities that align with future job growth."
