26 April, 2016

Minister for Education James Merlino today announced funding and the location of each of the state’s ten innovative Tech Schools which form a key part of the Andrews Labor Government’s plans to build the Education State and boost the skills young people need to flourish in the rapidly changing global economy.

Harriet Shing MP, Member for Eastern Victoria Region explained that a consortium of secondary schools, industry, local government and Federation Training has been hard at work over the past year bringing the Tech School vision to life.

Now that a Gippsland site has been chosen, work is proceeding on formalising governance structures and developing a curriculum for the new learning centre which will host students from surrounding government and non-government secondary schools, who will visit to experience the application of cutting edge technologies and the latest thinking in hands on problem solving.

The Tech School initiative is part of the Andrew Labor Government’s vision to inspire and train students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects, so they have the skills needed for future jobs, many of which have yet to be invented but experts believe will likely need STEM skills.

The Tech Schools – which will open in 2017 and 2018 – will have their own industry focus and will be fitted with the latest technology and hands on experiences, giving thousands of Victorian secondary school students the skills and training they need to flourish into the future.

The Federation Training, Morwell Campus Tech School’s industry focus will be food and fibre, health, new energy and advanced manufacturing giving our local students an important skills boost in this growing sector. Almost 5000 and up to 20,000 students and beyond will have access to the Federation Training Tech School.

Quotes attributable to Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing MP:

“I am thrilled that the Federation Training Tech School is taking shape and that the Morwell Campus has agreed to host the school. Announcing the site is an important step and work is progressing well.

“The Tech School Summit will be a chance for those involved in the Federation Training, Morwell Campus Tech School to hear from experts in STEM, including from scientists and industry, and to learn from other Tech Schools’ on the ground experiences.”