By JESSE GRAHAM
TAFE will be returning to Lilydale next year, with Box Hill Institute announcing a new campus for the town earlier today.
Box Hill Institute CEO Norman Gray was accompanied by Minister for Higher Education and Skills Nick Wakeling and Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe this morning to announce the new campus, which will be up-and-running at the start of 2015.
Mr Gray said the new campus – which would not be located on the former Swinburne campus – would offer 20 courses, with more to be provided in the future.
He said the initial course offering would include health and aged care, business, community services and trades, and that VET courses would also be run for high school students.
After Swinburne University of Technology’s Lilydale campus shut down in 2013, Mr Gray said there had been a demand in the area for TAFE services, and that the new Box Hill campus would fill that need.
“We identified a gap between the education available to residents in the area and the needs of the community,” Mr Gray said.
“The outer-east is a growth area with a lot of potential and we recognised the need for a quality educator to provide the skills the local area needs for employment on their doorstep.”
He said the institute had links with Deakin University and that some courses could offer students the possibility to transfer into a degree.
Mr Wakeling announced that the Victorian Government would support Box Hill’s move to the town with $2.25 million in funding.
He said the funding was not dependent on the 29 November State Election, and that the provider’s move to the town was not influenced by the government.
Ms Fyffe said she was ecstatic about the provider’s decision to come to town.
“If I were 20 years younger, I’d be doing cartwheels,” she said.
For the full story, see next week’s Mail.
