THERE is no face-to-face TAFE training in hospitality in Bass Coast.
Quite incredible when you consider the shire captures more than 3.1 million visitors annually, generating a tourism spend of $753 million (year ending December 2022) and supporting more than 7000 jobs (2018/19 financial year).
There’s nothing for those interested in a career in the burgeoning local health sector either or in-demand childcare and aged care services.
Despite what looks to be an attractive Chisholm Institute of TAFE campus on the corner of South Dudley and White roads in Wonthaggi, the institute doesn’t offer a single in-person course.
And despite the best efforts of Bass Coast College teacher and tertiary trainer, Malcolm Beasley, who launched a petition on Change.org in June this year, urging immediate action on the return of face-to-face training in Bass Coast, there’s been little response from government or from Chisholm.
“The Victorian Government and Chisholm are working together to assess the demand for in-person courses in the Bass Coast region so that our TAFE network continues to meet local skills and training needs in the area,” said a spokesperson for Chisholm recently.
“Victoria’s post-secondary education network in Bass Coast Shire offers world-class training in state-of-the-art facilities at a range of institutions, including TAFEs, secondary colleges and Learn Locals,” they claim.
However, after delivering a range of nationally-accredited TAFE certificate courses at its Wonthaggi campus for more than 20 years, Chisholm Institute of TAFE followed the lead of other training and education providers, and took their courses online during COVID never to return.
While other providers resumed face-to-face classes, offering the benefits of group work, collective knowledge, social interaction and professional connections; Chisholm continued to offer enrolments online as the only option, unless you are prepared to travel to their other campuses located at Dandenong, Frankston, Berwick, Springvale or Rosebud.
No wonder then that Mr Beasley has accused Chisholm TAFE of having no interest in Bass Coast, concentrating instead on Melbourne’s outer south-east and the Mornington Peninsula.
“Gippsland TAFE has a campus at Leongatha and Chisholm has campuses at Dandenong and the Mornington Peninsula but like almost everything else, Bass Coast falls somewhere between the two. It’s not good enough,” said Mr Beasley.
“We’ve compared Bass Coast with other regions that have smaller populations, like Colac-Otway and Leongatha that do offer a range of face-to-face courses at their local TAFE, why not Bass Coast, with a population of more than 42,000 and a huge holiday population and workforce demand.
“There’s absolutely no doubt, the lack of courses in hospitality, health, childcare and aged care is holding this area back economically.
“I mean what are you going to do? You’ve got the option of sending staff to Dandenong or Leongatha to train or not doing it? You probably don’t do it.
“There’s no commercial training kitchen in Bass Coast.”
Mr Beasley launched a petition on Change.org in June this year, which has frankly been tardy in finding its goal of 1000 signatures.
“We’re up to 813 but I’d like to see a lot more,” he said this week.
Something of a one-man promotional campaign up until just recently at least, Mr Beasley also made a pitch to the Minister for Youth and Small Business, Natalie Suleyman, who was visiting Phillip Island in the past week.
“She listened and said she admired my enthusiasm,” said Mr Beasley.
Having already penned an open letter to the former Federal Training Minister Brendan O’Connor (now Andrew Giles), his next stop is State Minister for Training and Skills, the Hon. Gayle Tierney.
And he won’t have to look far for an ally.
Bass MP Jordan Crugnale is onboard.
“Concerns about availability to TAFE in Bass coast are absolutely valid,” Ms Crugnale said this week.
“The scaling back over time of courses available to now no courses has impacted many young and older people in our area.
“Travelling long distances on limited and infrequent VLine services to access other TAFEs is not conducive to keeping young people especially engaged in further education,” she said.
“The need for a proper TAFE presence in the Bass Coast is something I have long advocated for and continue to advocate for with the Minister.
“We are currently working with Chisholm and the TAFE Network to explore options for future TAFE course delivery in Bass Coast.
“On a physical presence aspect, I have also been active in speaking to Bass Coast Shire about exploring partnerships with Gippsland TAFE and Bass Coast Health for a presence on the old school site – something they are looking into, though this will take time and funding.
“The Health and Construction sectors are two big employers and growing with demand and having pathways to this and other industry led courses would be and is so needed.
“We want everyone in our community to have access to quality vocational education and training, aligned to industry needs.”
As background, Ms Crugnale provided the following details:
Since 2014, the Allan Labor Government has invested more than $4.6 billion in the TAFE and training system to ensure Victorians have access to high quality education and rewarding career pathways.
Through our extensive TAFE network, we are offering high-quality skills training across the state so that Victorians have access to training and education, no matter where they live.
Details of where students can access Free TAFE courses across Victoria can be found through the Victorian Skills Gateway found at skills.vic.gov.au.
Eastern Victoria MLC Melina Bath is also well aware of the problem for Bass Coast.
“Not to have access to face to face TAFE courses in Wonthaggi, to serve the Bass Coast area, when other towns the size of Wonthaggi or smaller have TAFEs simply isn’t good enough,” Ms Bath said this week.
Candidate for Western Port in the Bass Coast Shire Council elections, Glenda Minty, was right on the money as well earlier this month.
She wrote a letter to the editor of the Sentinel-Times saying she’d like to see the Bass Coast Shire Council lobbying heavily for face-to-face training in Bass Coast.
“Bass Coast College may be the largest school in Gippsland with 1600 students and Bass Coast Shire may have a total of 2504 secondary students and Chisholm Institute may have a lovely building in Wonthaggi but there are no practical, face-to-face TAFE classes anywhere in the shire,” Ms Minty said.
“Other local government areas with smaller populations have face-to-face TAFE courses. For example Colac, (pop 22,273 with 1234 secondary students), Mt Alexander/Castlemaine (pop 20,253, with 800 students) and South Gippsland (pop 31,391 with 2007 students) all have face to face TAFE in six areas of study. Yes, that is areas of study not just courses. Things like agriculture, trades, health and hospitality.
“What’s wrong with Bass Coast? Don’t we need trade apprentices? Or hospitality workers? I must have just imagined the signs for positions vacant in the local cafes.
“With scarce, expensive housing, how can our young people afford to leave the area to go to TAFE?
“While not a local government responsibility, I believe Council needs to lobby the State Government to fix this situation.”
In fact, to give the Bass Coast Shire Council its due, advocacy for “revitalising and investing in the underutilised Chisholm TAFE Bass Coast Campus” is high on its State Government advocacy list.
If you want to help, go to Change.org search for ‘Bass Coast Shire needs a TAFE NOW’ and add your name to the petition. Or click the link HERE.