Local teachers have raised concerns that school students around the South East are losing out on the opportunity for essential training due to a lack of public transport.


The north west Loop of the Mount Gambier City Bus Service travels to the TAFE SA Mount Gambier Campus from the Ferrers Street bus station eight times a day from Monday to Friday but does not extend into the surrounding towns.


TAFE SA Mount Gambier Campus hospitality lecturer and AEU Site Secretary Toni Quin said the issue has been flagged by teachers at schools outside of Mount Gambier.


Ms Quin said she has seen young people have training impacted due to being unable to commute each day from towns in the mid to upper South East.


“I think there are instances where the industry is missing out on potential employees. Often they ask for someone who has experience but people cannot get experience if they do not get the opportunity,” she said.


“I think it can contribute to a shortage of employees in our local industries.


“Our lecturers work extremely hard to help students from all walks of life and we are proud to have changed people’s lives through the VET system. It is important that we are able to assist those that do not have a way of getting here.


“Thursday is the main day for VET in schools to be happening so it would be helpful to have a wider bus system so that more people can access the campus.”


TAFE SA’s Acting Chief Executive Fiona Champion said the training provider was focused on ensuring that location was not a barrier to undertaking vocational education and training.


“We’d encourage any potential students impacted by transport issues to get in touch with TAFE SA so that we can look at all possible solutions and training options,” she said.


Australian Education Union (AEU) South Australian Branch president Jennie-Marie Gorman said concerns have been raised with her about the lack of public transport to the TAFE SA Mount Gambier Campus.


“This could result in students not accessing the courses or schools and choosing to send students to third-party providers rather than TAFE,” she said.


“This means that students miss out on opportunities, even if courses are accessed through third-party providers.


“The AEU is firm in its position that TAFE is the gold standard for VET courses and that students should always be counselled into TAFE courses when considering VET pathways.


“This would have an impact on access to these courses. The reality is that this should not happen. We need to encourage students who are pursuing VET pathways to take up these opportunities.


“Mount Gambier could improve its public transportation. Is there a school-based solution? I do not know.”


Mount Gambier City Council has been advocating for alterations to the Mount Gambier bus service (which remains unchanged for over 30 years) since 2020.


Mayor Lynette Martin OAM said the recent grant of an extension to the north west loop bus routes to include the local Foodbank as an additional stop was not good enough and fell well short of what the city requires.


“Council has continued to advocate to Minister Koutsantonis for a more contemporary public bus service in Mount Gambier,” Mayor Martin said.


“Amongst many shortcomings with the current service, we have pointed out the inadequate servicing of many other areas of our city.


“In our most recent meeting Minister Koutsantonis offered us the installation of a new bus stop in proximity of the Mount Gambier Foodbank, but council would be required to provide the bus shelter infrastructure.”


A State Government spokesperson said that while new funding was allocated in the last state budget in June 2024 to safeguard regional bus contracts, including in Mount Gambier, they were conducting a broader review as part of a commitment to audit regional transport services across the state.


“This will identify any existing gaps in service and consider feedback from stakeholders such as local services, councils and community passenger networks, as well as local communities through public consultation meetings,” the spokesperson said.


“This feedback will assist in the design of an enhanced network that can meet the transport needs of Mount Gambier and surrounding areas.”