CQUniversity seeks bipartisan support for TAFE Centre of Excellence
CQUniversity Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Nick Klomp has today urged the current Queensland ALP State Government to commit to fully funding CQU’s $59.57 million TAFE Centre of Excellence project in the upcoming election.
“This project has been around for almost a decade and will see all of CQUniversity’s Vocational Education and Training (VET) operations consolidated onto a single site at the Rockhampton North campus,” Professor Klomp said.
“The Queensland ALP Government has supported this project in the past with an $8.4 million commitment at the 2020 State Election to bring over the trades of bricklaying, plumbing, construction and carpentry.
“A number of other VET courses, including nursing, aged care and heavy auto, have already been brought over thanks to significant investment from CQUniversity. Now it’s time to finish the job.”
While that site has served CQUniversity well over the past decade, it has become increasingly underutilised as various VET courses have been brought over to Rockhampton North.
“Once we have certainty over our footprint, we will also be able to unlock land on the Rockhampton North campus for desperately needed housing in our region as well as return the current City Campus back to the Queensland State Government for alternative use,” Professor Klomp said.
“This means hundreds more skilled workers, more housing and the opportunity to fully activate the City Campus for the benefit of the community.”
CQUniversity welcomed the recent commitment from the Queensland LNP to complete the Rockhampton TAFE Centre of Excellence should the party be elected, which was a crucial step forward for CQUniversity and the broader Central Queensland community.
“It is now time for the full potential of this initiative to be realised and bipartisan support is essential.”
Professor Klomp said the project would bring long-term benefits - not just in terms of workforce development, but also in supporting regional growth and prosperity.
“By working together, we can ensure that this project reaches its full potential, providing the skilled workers that our industries need, and contributing to the future growth of Central Queensland.
“Now is the time for all parties to come together and commit to the future of our region, ensuring that CQUniversity can continue to be a leader in education and training that meets the demands of our local economy.”
Since CQUniversity merged with CQ TAFE 10 years ago, the University has been progressively consolidating its VET delivery from the City Campus to the Rockhampton North campus with an objective of establishing a world-class, state-of-the-art training facility to support the skills' needs of current and future workforces.
Once completed, the TAFE Centre of Excellence will deliver hundreds of extra skilled workers meaning more tradies on workshop floors across industry, more construction workers building desperately-needed houses and more skilled locals to fill much-needed roles in industry and our small business community.
