Prime Minister Julia Gillard, School Education Minister Peter Garrett and Federal Member for Perth Stephen Smith joined together today to officially open the new John Forrest Trade Training Centre in Perth. Prime Minister Gillard said the new Trade Training Centre - located at John Forrest Secondary College in Perth - received more than $2.5 million as part of the Trade Training Centres in Schools Program.
The new Centre, to be shared with Mount Lawley Senior High School, will provide young people in the area with the best learning facilities to prepare them well for jobs of the future. The Trade Training Centre, like others around Australia, will provide students with the training opportunities and experience they need to take the next step towards further education and employment. The Trade Training Centre is another example of the Gillard Government delivering for the people of Western Australia. The Gillard Government is delivering better education and training options for students in Western Australia - with 117 schools benefiting from $127.7 million invested in 38 Trade Training Centre projects across the state. Mr Smith said the facility will provide training directly relevant to various local industries, including workshops for plumbing, gas-fitting, painting and decorating. The Government has almost doubled schools funding to $64.9 billion since coming to office. Trade Training Centres are being established to help increase the number of students achieving Year 12 or an equivalent qualification and to help meet skill shortages in traditional trades and emerging industries. The Trade Training Centre will also be used for Try a Trade programs that allow students in Year 10 to take part in a two-day program focussing on either plumbing or painting and decorating. At full capacity, the centre will have the capacity to train 60 pre-apprentices each year and 1500 Try a Trade students each year. All of these programs are being made available to all schools in the Perth Metropolitan region and beyond. Further information about the John Forrest Trade Training Centre and all schools funded under the Program is available at: www.tradetrainingcentres.deewr.gov.au.