Calls grow for Vasse TAFE

There are renewed calls for the development of a proposed advanced technology TAFE in Vasse.

Plans have been in the works for a TAFE in Vasse since March 2012 when former local member Troy Buswell said he expected the planning to be completed and a location agreed upon by the end of the year.

Resident-driven campaigning has waxed and waned since then but Vasse MLA Libby Mettam said Vasse was ideally placed to create an education hub in the South West.

“The City of Busselton is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country with a larger number of people under the age of 14, and it is essential that we continue to address and plan for the growing educational needs of the region, from primary right through to higher education,” she said.

Ms Mettam said the previous Liberal-led Government invested significantly in education in the region.

“It is vital that the McGowan Government continues to support this vision by planning for the increasing demand for another primary school in the Vasse subdivision, and securing a future TAFE site,” she said.

The proposed site for the TAFE is Yallingup Siding Road beside Cape Naturaliste College and Vasse Primary School, which would create a primary to tertiary education centre.

City of Busselton Mayor Grant Henley said the attraction of learning providers was a key priority for the City.

“Ours is a rapidly growing population and an expansion of the TAFE system would pro-vide an opportunity for people of all ages to learn new skills, upskill and expand their ed-ucational horizons,” Mr Henley said.

Despite their calls for more education providers, Minister for Education and Training Sue Ellery said there was no timeframe for securing a second TAFE in the South West.

“Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics March 2018 Data, the South West Development Commission cites 2.3 per cent growth for Busselton’s population from 2013 to March 2018,” she said.

“It is likely Busselton campus growth will mirror the 2.3 per cent growth over the next five-year period.

“The Department for Training and Workforce Development continues to monitor population growth and training demands in the South West.”