Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Member for Ballarat Catherine King today announced work will begin this month on a new centre that will provide cutting edge manufacturing training for students at the University of Ballarat.
The Gillard Labor Government has provided more than $18 million through the Education Investment Fund to help build the new Manufacturing Technology Training Centre in Ballarat.
The centre will provide specialist training spaces to help provide new skills in areas such as robotics, mechatronics and manufacturing computer animation.
The centre will also house labs to teach computer assisted design.
The Prime Minister visited the University of Ballarat today to inspect the site and meet apprentices who will benefit from the new centre when it is built.
The new facility will enhance the University of Ballarat's capacity to meet the training needs of the diverse and rapidly evolving manufacturing sector in western Victoria.
The announcement comes a day after the Gillard Government's Future Jobs Forum, which looked at further ways to position our economy for the years ahead.
The forum, hosted by the Prime Minister, also canvassed innovative ideas to spread the benefits of strong growth to all corners of our patchwork economy.
Manufacturing is the third largest category of employment in the Central Highlands of Victoria and the major driver of regional growth and development.
The new centre is a good example of how targeted investment will help secure a vibrant manufacturing industry and provide the jobs of the future for the Ballarat region.
The investment will help with the diversification of the region's manufacturing base by creating smarter, more innovative manufacturing technologies.
A key activity of the centre will be the training of apprentices for modern-day manufacturing.
Already, the University trains 200 apprentices in manufacturing and when the centre is fully operational, this number is anticipated to increase to 300.
These additional apprentices will be available for employment in Ballarat and throughout the region.
The Manufacturing Technology Training Centre will be a vital resource in maintaining, growing and leading manufacturing technology in western Victoria.
The University has worked closely with local industry representatives in the planning of the centre to better understand and respond to local business needs.
Construction of the centre is expected to commence this month and 145 jobs for local tradespeople and professionals will be created in the construction phase.
Since 2007, the Government has committed more than $6.2 billion in capital funding for infrastructure to support landmark investments in higher education, research and vocational education and training, as well as campus renewal, modernisation projects and improved student amenities.
So far 57 projects funded through the Education Investment Fund have been completed and a further 121 projects are underway.
This historic investment has allowed our universities and TAFEs to build state-of-the-art learning and teaching facilities equipped for the challenges of the 21st Century.
More information on the funding of higher education infrastructure programs can be found at:
http://www.deewr.gov.au/HigherEducation/Programs/Funding/Pages/Home.aspx