Site decision brings Melton TAFE campus closer

THE new TAFE campus in Melton will be built on the corner of Hollingsworth Drive and Ferris Road in Cobblebank, offering residents on the eastern side of the Moorabool Shire a closer TAFE than Ballarat.

Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney and Member for Melton Steve McGhie announced earlier this week that an agreement on the site had been reached with the Melton City Council.

The State Government has allocated $55 million to establish the campus, with Kangan Institute chosen as the TAFE provider that will build and operate it.

The campus will offer training focused on key trades such as plumbing, electrical, building and construction, and will accommodate up to 800 students a year.

It is being funded through the Government’s Building Better TAFE Fund, which has also paid for a new Kangan Institute campus in Sunbury and a Bendigo TAFE Community Health and Learning Hub in Castlemaine.

Planning and design work has begun, with the campus expected to open in 2028.

The site is near the Cobblebank train station, across from the Council’s Western Business Accelerator and Centre of Excellence (BACE), and is close to schools and the future hospital.

Kangan Institute, which operates Bendigo TAFE, was selected because of its geographical connection to the area.

It also has well-established strengths in the delivery of construction and trades training, and will offer TAFE courses in Melton at Western BACE while work on the campus takes place.

In a statement, Ms Tierney said Melton is one of Australia’s fastest growing areas.

She said its population is forecast to grow by about 215,000 people between this year and 2046, but residents currently have no TAFE campuses close to home.

“This new world-class campus that delivers high quality and industry-relevant training in the construction fields will mean Melton residents have the opportunity to live, train and work close to home,” Ms Tierney said.

Mr McGhie said the new TAFE campus will make sure locals have access to high-quality, hands-on training in key industries like construction.

Kangan Institute’s chief executive officer, Sally Curtain, said the organisation would work closely with Western BACE, schools, industry and the community to deliver training needed by Melton’s workforce.