New trades hub to train up to 700 apprentices a year in Coffs Harbour
Amid a skills shortage, the ribbon has been cut on a new multimillion-dollar trades hub which will train hundreds of young tradies a year on the north coast.
Coffs Harbour
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The opening of a multimillion dollar trades hub in Coffs Harbour has been touted as a ‘new era’ for skills training for the North Coast.
The ribbon was officially cut on Tuesday morning for the $13.3m Coffs Harbour Education Campus Trades Hub, which is slated to train around 700 apprentices per year to help meet the demand for skilled workers.
Coffs MP Gurmesh Singh was joined by Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee and TAFE NSW managing director Steffen Faurby to do the honours, nearly two years after the first sod was turned.
Mr Singh said the 2,500 square metre industry-standard facility includes new specialist training spaces in areas including carpentry and joinery, construction, electrical trades, waterproofing, shop fitting/cabinet making, kitchen design, plumbing and water operations.
“Investment in education and training is critical to the success of our region’s economy, and these new state-of-the-art facilities will have a positive, tangible impact on local communities throughout the North Coast,” he said.
The opening of the hub comes weeks after two trades courses in Coffs Harbour – bricklaying and tiling – were cut. A TAFE NSW spokesperson said this was due to low demand.
“TAFE NSW has experienced very low demand for the bricklaying and tiling course over the past few years and subsequent high demand for other trades,” the spokesperson said at the time.
Located at the Coffs Harbour Education Campus, the new CHEC Trades Hub will run parallel to the $3.2 million Coffs Harbour Connected Health Hub which opened last year.
The Health Hub introduced a wider range of courses for local students, including in key areas of demand such as Dental Technology, Aged Care and Aboriginal Health.
It was hoped the hub would help meet an increasing demand for skilled health workers in the face of the city’s growing ageing population.
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