Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I want to talk about a recent education announcement that will make a significant difference to secondary school students in the Huon Valley region in the south of my electorate of Franklin. A new trade training centre for southern Tasmania will be built under the Rudd government’s Trade Training Centres in Schools Program. The Huon Valley Trade Training Centre will receive around $6.4 million to construct a new building at the Huonville High School. The trade training centre will cater for students from Dover District High School, Geeveston District High School, Woodbridge School and the Huonville High School.

The trade training centre will deliver a range of qualifications, including automotive, electrical, hospitality, horticulture and aquaculture. Southern Tasmanian students in the Huon Valley will become equipped with the skills they need to effectively and competitively participate in the workforce of tomorrow. This is really exciting news for the Huon Valley region. It is positive on a number of fronts. First, the young people will have increased access to world-class education and training opportunities in their local area. Second, the delivery of high-quality education through the trade training centre will help to increase the proportion of students achieving a year 12 or equivalent qualification. Third, the program has been designed to address the skills shortages in traditional trades and emerging industries by improving the relevance and responsiveness of the trade training programs in secondary schools.

The Huon Valley trade training centre is all about southern Tasmanian children getting an opportunity to obtain the skills and education they need for their future. The principal of Huon Valley’s high school, Alison Grant, whom I called on the morning of the announcement, was thrilled at the news that a trade training centre would be built at her school. She is a local, passionate voice for education and fully supports the delivery of vocational training through the trade training centre environment. She said:

The retention of students from the Huon Valley from grade 10 to further education in grade 11 has been an issue for a long time. Huonville High School, in particular, has worked hard to promote the importance of education beyond grade 10. The pathway planning and futures program at the school is regarded as one of the best in Tasmania. Currently all students post-grade 10, except for a handful, have to travel out of the Huon Valley to study. The provision of a first-class training facility in the Huon Valley will provide opportunities for young people who want to live, work and study in the Huon Valley and provide an exciting opportunity to build partnerships between educators and employers to work together in the best interests of the valley’s young people.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Alison on the work she has done to ensure this outcome and also the local council—the Huon Valley Council—who I know have put a lot of time and energy into securing this important facility for the local community. Apart from the $6.4 million in trade training centre funding, the Huon Valley has also recently benefited from the massive investment through the Building the Education Revolution Program, of course. The trade training centre is a fantastic learning hub for the students. It delivers on our election commitment to build trade training centres, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact this will have on the region and its people.

See this speech in context