Federation Training has unveiled major upgrades to its Bairnsdale TAFE campus in East Gippsland to cater for increased training demand in the local community.

Federation Training and local government representatives joined staff, students and invited guests to officially open the new facilities last Friday.

The Bairnsdale campus upgrades are a major boost for the local TAFE, delivering new integrated training facilities, extensions to current classrooms and a rebuilt hospitality restaurant.

The refurbishment of the nursing, early childhood and hair and beauty training spaces deliver on Federation Training’s commitment to provide a quality student experience for regional students so it can meet the current and future skills needs of the local community, business and industry.

Federation Training’s chief executive officer, Grant Radford, said the improvements to the Bairnsdale campus will provide modern TAFE training infrastructure for the East Gippsland community.

“As Gippsland’s local and trusted TAFE, we play a vital role in responding to the challenges facing our local communities. This upgrade will enable us to continue to have a positive impact in the community as we work together to help our students and communities get to where they want be,” Mr Radford said.

“This investment is delivering high quality new facilities for our students and teaching staff, helping our TAFE to deliver skills training for the jobs most needed in the communities in which we operate.

“This significant investment is a vote of confidence in our local TAFE and provides great new learning spaces for students, particularly in the hospitality, hair and beauty, early childhood and nursing areas.”

Specifically, the refurbishments have seen a major transformation of the Oaktree Restaurant to expand its client capacity and incorporate a larger modern kitchen to cater for additional training demand.

The development of a new health wing, including a new practical laboratory and a simulated aged care facility, will allow for better integrated theory and practical learning spaces.

This model will be replicated in designs for further capital improvements at other TAFE campuses throughout Gippsland to provide quality experiences for students and deliver on the skills needs of our communities.

Extensions to the hair and beauty training rooms will provide additional student work stations, new equipment and an upgraded modernlooking salon. The brand new make-up studio will also allow for the delivery of an additional training course for beauty students with classes started in July this year and another class early in 2019.

Mr Radford said the refurbishments would ensure Federation Training’s Bairnsdale campus was an attractive and modern TAFE training facility.

“These new purpose-built training facilities will provide TAFE students studying in Bairnsdale access to first class training environments that meet industry standards,” Mr Radford said.

PICTURED: Federation Training nursing staff, Heather Redmond, Emma Bellfield, Jacqueline Jones and Megan Clarkson, with East Gippsland Shire Council mayor, Cr Joe Rettino (centre), at the Bairnsdale TAFE campus’ new facilities launch last Friday.