Members for the Mount Gambier Research, Education and Training Precinct steering committee met last week to move forward plans for development in the area.


The steering committee discussed the planned work at the precinct on Wireless Road East which includes a Technical College, the Forestry Centre of Excellence and funding for new workshop areas at TAFE.


The two-storey college will be built at the front southwest corner of the precinct and will feature workshops and classrooms on the ground level, along with short stay accommodation on the upper level to enable students from outlying towns and districts to attend the Mount Gambier Technical College.


The committee was also briefed on the progress of the Forestry Centre of Excellence which will be built on the eastern side of the Mount Gambier campus of the University of South Australia.


In total, $59m is being invested by the State Government into the precinct.


Minister for Education, Training and Skills, Blair Boyer said the investment in the Technical College at the precinct is aimed at providing the best opportunity for students to prepare to enter the workforce or further their career path.


“The technical colleges are one of the key ways the Malinauskas Labor Government is addressing the skills need for South Australia – to ensure we are driving the skills focus in sectors of demand,” Minister Boyer said.


“They are about increasing choices and options for students and providing them with direct pathways to specific industry sectors where there are careers in demand right here in South Australia.


“We have been widely consulting across the Limestone Coast to ensure we meet industry demand and ensure employment pathways that secure the future of the potential students, employers and the state.”


The steering committee, made up of government, education and industry representatives, is providing advice to Precinct Leader Peter Gandolfi on building and strengthening the precinct’s ties with business and community organisations.


Mr Gandolfi said the next 18 months will be an exciting period.


“The precinct will be a hive of construction activity and the steering committee will be providing advice on how to best use the site and secure it as the premier destination for research, education and training in the region,” he said.