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TAFE Trade Centre lets Lilydale locals build their future


2021-05-19

Residents from across the Yarra Ranges will receive the training they need for rewarding jobs thanks to the opening of a new $10.2 million TAFE trade training centre opened at Box Hill Institute’s Lilydale Lakeside campus on Friday 14 May.

Acting Premier James Merlino, Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney and Box Hill Institute CEO Vivienne King launched the Lilydale Nallei Jerring Nyerboing Trade Centre, which was named in consultation with Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Doreen Wandin-Garvey and means ‘Join Unite Industrious’.

The state-of-the-art facility features workspaces that can change and adapt to match the industry, including versatile pods that replicate real-life construction sites. It also includes classrooms, meeting rooms and other amenities.

Students will gain cutting-edge automotive, carpentry, electrical plumbing and building design training to prepare them for the workforce. Importantly, they will gain an insight into other trades to help foster more collaboration between workers onsite.

Minister Tierney said, “This new state-of-the-art facility will be a gateway for local students between high quality training and in-demand jobs in their region – it’s just another example of our unprecedented investment in the skills and training sector.”

The Lilydale Trade Centre was designed to give locals better access to high quality training and to meet the region’s growing demand for skilled workers, particularly in the sustainable construction and new energy sectors.

Classes began at the centre this month – with places for up to 965 students each year, through a mix of apprentices, pre-apprentices and short-course students. There will be even more training options for locals, with stronger connections to school students.

Graduates will have more streamlined access to in-demand jobs on some of Victoria’s most exciting projects, overseen by Apprenticeships Victoria. The new body will be a point of contact supporting apprentices and industry.

May Constructions built the Lilydale Trade Centre using more than 90 per cent Australian materials. The construction process created more than 400 jobs, including 27 apprenticeships.

Box Hill Institute has a long history of delivering top quality trades training, strengthened by trusted partnerships with industry and employers. By 2023, the training centre is forecast to educate an additional 187 pre-apprenticeship students and 162 apprentices each year. It will also offer short courses for people in the region to upskill.

Technicians and trades workers are the second-largest occupation category in Melbourne’s outer-east, representing 15.5% of employed people aged 15 or over, or approximately 38,000 people. Construction is currently one of the largest industries in the Shire. In 2016, 32.6% of this region’s apprenticeships and traineeships were in building and construction compared to 24.1% statewide. 

In addition to offering trades course, the centre will have the capacity to involve industry by hosting industry events, trade shows and providing specialist training.