Gunedah TAFE is teaming up with Gunnedah Shire Council and Gunnedah and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry to address the shire’s skills shortages.
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Gunnedah campus manager Christine Nash said the TAFE can meet the demand for courses and has thrown open its doors for enrolment week.
Ms Nash said TAFE NSW’s Adam Bennett had already been in Gunnedah to find out which courses would best benefit the town.
“The push now is on, obviously, for Gunnedah campus to meet the demand for what local people want,” Ms Nash said.
The campus manager said nursing, childcare and aged courses continued to be popular courses, with technology enabling the campus to offer any TAFE NSW course.
Chamber president Stacey Cooke said it was important to make connections between TAFE and trades.
“We don’t want our kids always having to go over to Tamworth,” Mrs Cooke said.
“When we have a facility here, it’s crazy not to take advantage of that.”
The chamber has been given a headstart in addressing the skills shortages, receiving a $5000 Business Partner grant from the council to facilitate a skills and opportunities audit.
“This is a research project specifically aimed to develop mitigation strategies around accommodation and childcare availability in the Gunnedah shire,” council’s economic manager Charlotte Hoddle said.
“Work undertaken to date by the chamber has identified these issues as constraints on attracting and retaining skilled workers.”
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