New accommodation opened for Marcus Oldham students

STUDENTS at Marcus Oldham College are sleeping easy in their new accommodation supported by the state government.

The new 30-bedroom facility received $2.5 million from the Agricultural College Modernisation Program and is the first project to be completed.

The program helps agriculture colleges and other training providers to upgrade the programs and facilities they need to educate Victoria’s future farmers and agriculture professionals.

Marcus Oldham is a non-profit college offering higher education qualifications in agriculture, agribusiness, and equine management at Diploma through to Masters level.

This project has increased on-campus accommodation to 153 beds, enabling more students to get access to education and enhance their
agricultural knowledge.

Landscaping is nearly complete but the first students have already moved into their new rooms.

“Living on campus is essential to produce great graduates and thanks to the Victorian Government more students can engage in the full Marcus Oldham educational experience,” Marcus Oldham College principal Andrew Baker said.

Minister for Agriculture Mary-Anne Thomas visited the college campus in Waurn Ponds last week to officially open the facility.

“This new accommodation is going to make a huge difference to Victoria’s next generation of farmers and industry professionals,” Ms Thomas said.

“The program will enhance education and career pathways for young people in agriculture.”

The $50 million Agricultural College Modernisation Program has also allocated $20 million to upgrade facilities at Longerenong College and the University of Melbourne’s Dookie campus.

The program is part of the state government’s 10-year Agriculture Strategy to support the skills of the future and help more Victorians pursue a career
in agriculture.

Victoria’s growing food and fibre sector needs more workers with a range of skills including in digital, business, risk and marketing fields to take products to international markets.