Findon High School will be the first site of five new technical colleges promised by the government

Three metropolitan sites for SA’s five new technical colleges have been confirmed, with two regional locations also disclosed.

Findon High School will be the site of the first technical college to be built in SA out of five promised by the government in it’s election commitment.

The state government also announced that Heights School in the northeast and Tonsley TAFE will be the other two metropolitan sites for the new technical colleges.

The Findon High School college will be operational in 2024, with construction to start later this year. There will be a particular emphasis on manufacturing trades, including electricians, machinists, and welding.

“We went to the election making it clear that investments in skills and training was critical as part of Labor’s not just education policy, but also economic policy,” said Premier Peter Malinauskas.

“You don’t have to go very far within the South Australian economy at the moment to find an employer that will tell you that their biggest constraint to growth is access to people, particularly people with skills.”

Minister for Education, Training and Skills Blair Boyer with Premier Peter Malinauskas and a Findon High School student. Picture: Kitty Barr

Mr Malinauskas said that we can expect that the growth in demand for young people with high quality trades and high quality skills is only going to grow in the years ahead.

$200 million is being invested into the technical colleges across the state, with $35m going to Findon High.

“We want young men and women at school to be able to make an active choice to acquire a trade, acquire a skill that we know is going to be in demand for the economy of today as well as tomorrow,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Two regional technical colleges will be built in Port Augusta and Mt Gambier.

“I think for too long as a country we found ourselves in a situation where our only skills policy has to be import more and more skilled labor. I support skilled migration, but that can’t be the only answer to the skills crisis that the nation now finds itself in,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Minister for Education Blair Boyer said that working with industry will continue, to make sure that the courses offered meet existing skill shortages and provide a pipeline of skilled workers for the jobs of the future.

“We can leverage these technical colleges to make sure we are providing that pipeline by giving year 10, 11 and 12 students the opportunity to most likely be doing certificate two studies or pre apprenticeships in areas like machining and welding and electrotechnology,” Mr Boyer said.