TasTAFE pulls out of proposed Kangaroo Bay hospitality training centre

TasTAFE has revealed why it will no longer partner with a proposed hospitality training centre at Kangaroo Bay.

An artisit’s impression of the proposed training school at Kangaroo Bay.

TASTAFE will no longer partner with the Chinese company proposing to build a hospitality training centre at Kangaroo Bay.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff on Tuesday morning told a budget estimates committee that the state’s public vocational education provider had pulled back its involvement with the Bellerive development.

TasTAFE chief executive Jenny Dodd said this was because her organisation was not qualified to provide the training the developers sought.

“That particular project, as we investigated it further, is really about higher education, and TasTAFE is not a higher education provider,” Ms Dodd said.

“Our role will be where there is a training opportunity within our gamut and suite of operations, that’s where we will offer our service provision to people delivering and writing the program.”

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The Co-ordinator-General, who will soon fly to China to salvage the project, was working to find an alternative education provider, Mr Rockliff said.

TasTAFE and developer Chambroad signed an agreement for service delivery at the Kangaroo Bay hotel and training facility during a China trade mission in 2016.

The 2017-18 budget allocated $200,000 to assist TasTAFE’s involvement in the venture.

Franklin Greens MP Rosalie questioned whether TasTAFE had spent that money to find out the training provider “did not deliver Masters courses”.

“I am flabbergasted,” Dr Woodruff said.

“Isn’t that something that’s just written down?”