{"id":80404,"date":"2014-09-05T22:55:27","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T12:55:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=80404"},"modified":"2020-11-27T11:40:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T01:40:45","slug":"tafe-here-to-stay-schwenke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2014\/09\/05\/tafe-here-to-stay-schwenke\/","title":{"rendered":"TAFE Here To Stay: Schwenke"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Santina Schmocker, from TAFE South West’s Nurunderi and Kingaroy campuses with General Manager Trevor Schwenke \u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 5, 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

TAFE teachers, students and invited guests gathered at the TAFE South West campus in Kingaroy on Thursday to mark the official opening of a new Learning Centre for students.<\/p>\n

The specially equipped room will allow students to study in an “inviting area” and access wi-fi for online delivery of courses.<\/p>\n

There are also bean bags and a wide-screen TV to allow students space to relax.<\/p>\n

It has been developed in an area of the main building that was originally office space, and was then converted into a conference room \/ videolink area.<\/p>\n

The foyer of the admin building and the former library space have also been converted to new uses.<\/p>\n

TAFE South West general manager Trevor Schwenke said the message from the changes and the re-branding of the TAFE college was that TAFE was “here to stay”.<\/p>\n

“It’s not going anywhere … but it needs you to grow,” he said.<\/p>\n

As part of the statewide restructuring of TAFE colleges by the State Government, the training body has been shifted out of the Department of Education into its own statutory authority.<\/p>\n

Mr Schwenke said he was part of a Board that now runs TAFE across Queensland. The former separate institutes – which competed against each other – were now regional centres which aimed to act co-operatively, he said.<\/p>\n

In another change, TAFE no longer owned the buildings from which it operated.<\/p>\n

Mr Schwenke said this was a bonus as staff didn’t have to “worry about fixing the facilities”.<\/p>\n

From July 1, delivery of training in Queensland was made “contestable”, which means TAFE has to compete with private providers.<\/p>\n

“We want to be the preferred training provider across this region in all areas,” Mr Schwenke said.<\/p>\n

He said the new Learning Centre would create more opportunities for local students, including partnering with universities to deliver online courses.<\/p>\n

He said 2396 unique students had enrolled at the Kingaroy campus over the past 12 months, out of 24,000 across the the TAFE South West region.<\/p>\n

Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said she wanted the community to “embrace” the new facility .<\/p>\n

“TAFE is not shutting down,” she said.<\/p>\n

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