The Federal and NSW Governments are jointly investing more than $60 million over five years to establish the Hunter Net Zero Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at TAFE NSW’s Tighes Hill campus in Newcastle.
Both the Federal Government and NSW Governments are investing $28.1 million, with a further $5.27 million in federal funding to support the centre.
The centre is set to accelerate the development of a Higher Apprenticeship model focused on the advanced skills required for net zero manufacturing.
“Investing in a Future Made in Australia means investing in the skills and training industry will need in the years to come,” said prime minister Anthony Albanese.
“The Hunter has a proud history of industry and manufacturing – which is why this is the perfect place for this Centre of Excellence.
The upgraded Centre will play a pivotal role in building up new skills for workers across the Hunter, investing in their future.
This will enable access to jobs in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone, and delivering the skilled workforce required to support the renewable energy sector.
“We are getting on with the job of delivering three TAFE Centres of Excellence in NSW, a key part of our commitment to provide fully subsidised training to an additional 1,000 apprenticeships a year in advanced manufacturing and related industries,” said premier of NSW, Chris Minns:
“The Hunter region is a powerhouse for energy and manufacturing and we are proud to partner with the Albanese Government to deliver this training centre so the local community and industry have the skills needed to benefit from the energy transition.”
The Centre of Excellence is set to:
- Grow the workforce to support the renewable energy industry through technology-integrated learning, increasing access to training in regional and remote areas of northern NSW via mobile training units.
- Establish a National Renewable Energy Microskills Marketplace, enabling TAFEs across Australia to share and access renewable industry-related digital non-accredited courses.
- Implement a higher apprenticeship model, integrating vocational education and training (VET) and higher education by combining critical trade skills like electrotechnology, welding, and fabrication, with higher-level units in emerging areas such as digital technologies.
The Centre will also build on partnerships between TAFE NSW, universities and local industry to pilot qualification models that deliver a parity of status between VET and higher education.
This follows the September announcement of the Western Sydney Advanced Manufacturing Centre of Excellence and is the second of three TAFE NSW Manufacturing Centres of Excellence;.
The Centre will also support both Government’s commitment to rebuilding our local manufacturing capacity, including delivering the skilled workforce required to build and maintain the NSW Tangara fleet locally.
The Federal Government is investing $325 million under the five-year National Skills Agreement, which began on 1 January, to establish a network of up to 20 TAFE Centres of Excellence in areas of high skills needs.
These centres will help deliver a skilled workforce for strategically important industries to meet national challenges.