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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-17 Daily Xml
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SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES EDUCATION CENTRE

Mr SIBBONS (Mitchell) (14:26): Straight into detention, I would think, madam. My question is to the Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills. Can the minister inform the house about the appointment of the new Sustainable Industries Education Centre director?

The Hon. T.R. KENYON (Newland—Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for Recreation and Sport) (14:26): I thank the member for Mitchell for his question. I am very, very pleased to be able to tell the house that the newly appointed director of the Sustainable Industries Education Centre is Mr Peter Nolan, who will take up this key post next month.

Many members will know Mr Nolan from his time at the Civil Contractors Federation. If you have been down to the training facility, it is a fantastic training facility, and if he can apply the same rigour, thinking and planning to this seat, then that will be an excellent thing for the state. Mr Nolan's appointment is another major step in the development of the $125 million Sustainable Industries Education Centre building and construction training hub at Tonsley Park.

Mr Nolan brings a wealth of experience to the new position from his previous roles as CEO of a private registered training organisation, a manager of an industry-based training group, a lecturer and program manager at TAFE Western Australia, and an apprentice manager with the Western Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Mr Nolan is a highly skilled leader and has demonstrated exceptional skills and innovation, apprenticeship training management, developing industry relationships and delivering on strategic goals and change management. He is a former TAFE SA student, having started his working career as an apprentice electrical fitter in Adelaide.

Mr Nolan's appointment brings TAFE SA closer to the official establishment of the centre, due to open in January 2014. In the lead-up period, Mr Nolan will be involved in infrastructure design implementation, industry engagement and workforce development activities. The new $125 million centre will specialise in training more than 8,000 students a year in new green technologies associated with the state's $4.5 billion building and construction industry and will be a central focus of the new Tonsley Park precinct.

TAFE SA is the major tenant of the site, with other industry and training organisations expected to take up the opportunity to co-locate in the state-of-the-art facility. When built, the new education centre will provide 40,000 square metres of world-class, energy-efficient trade training infrastructure; that is four hectares, I think. It will transform training in the building, construction and water industries and open the way to incorporating cleaner green technology into future building projects.

TAFE SA's building and construction programs will be located in the new centre, while an innovative education partnership between TAFE SA and our universities will give students increased flexibility to move between the different tertiary sectors. The Sustainable Industries Education Centre complements the state government's Skill for All reforms, aimed at revitalising our training system, with more people in training, greater training options for students and better skills, resulting in a stronger economy for South Australia.

Certificate I and II training courses will be fee free for the first time from July this year, while hundreds of certificate III and IV courses will continue to attract funding support. Students at diploma and advanced diploma levels will be able to apply for VET FEE-HELP for the first time, meaning that they will be able to defer their payments until they get a job and start earning.

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