News & Events
The State Government approves a new Automotive
Centre of Excellence for Kangan Batman TAFE
October, 2002
The State Government has approved the establishment of a new Kangan Batman TAFE Automotive Centre of Excellence at the Melbourne Docklands.
The Hon. Lynne Kosky MP, Minister for Education and Training made the official announcement on 21 October 2002 at the Fox Classic Car Collection at the Melbourne Docklands.
The funding of $14 million for the first stage of the Automotive Centre of Excellence will provide an opportunity to build a one-of-its kind automotive learning and research centre in the heart of Melbourne.
The new Automotive Centre of Excellence will represent an opportunity to address the significant challenges facing the automotive industry.
This facility will draw on expertise from the leaders within the automotive industry to work with the government to deliver automotive training excellence. The project is expected to take nearly two to three years to complete.
While a lot of capability is present in Victoria to support the development of the automotive industry and contribute to its knowledge base, much of this capability is fragmented.
The establishment of this centre will benefit from greater integration and industry focus. According to Kangan Batman TAFE Director John Parish, this funding provides a way forward for the automotive industry in Australia.
“At Kangan Batman TAFE we are excited that a way forward for the automotive industry has been identified. This announcement of funding for the first stage of the Automotive Centre of Excellence is fantastic news for the automotive industry in Victoria.”
Kangan Batman is the only TAFE institute in Victoria that delivers all of the programs servicing the automotive industry. The current facilities service close to 3,750 students per year from across Victoria.
The automotive industry is a key employer and a key driver of the manufacturing industry in Victoria and Australia.
Given the importance of the automotive industry to the local and national economy, and its strong links to the wider manufacturing sector, the benefits resulting from developing the innovation capabilities of the industry would be significant.
Over the past decade the global automotive industry has experienced significant change in its structure that includes the supply chain, consolidation, diffusion of design, increasing complexity and the rise of virtual engineering.
The quality of education and training and the research and development infrastructure has become critical to a company's ability to adapt to new demands and remain competitive.
The new facilities planned will consolidate all of Kangan Batman TAFE's automotive facilities onto one site. Currently automotive training at Kangan Batman TAFE is spread over two campuses, the Coburg campus and Richmond campus, both in Melbourne.
The establishment of a state-of-the-art automotive training centre will place Victoria at the forefront of automotive training in Australia and South East Asia.
The new Automotive Centre of Excellence will:
- Address significant problems in retail, service and repair training.
- Improve the quality and coordination of all sectors of the education and training system, from VET in schools to TAFE and through to undergraduate and post-graduate engineering degrees, supporting the manufacturing sector.
- Build a critical mass of leading edge research and product development capability available to support the industry as it seeks to improve its innovation performance.
- Showcase the capabilities of the industry to improve its image and thereby allow it to attract the people required to drive future innovation in products and practices.
- Provide a place, both physical and virtual, for the industry to improve communication and collaboration, both within the industry and between the education sector and industry and to;
- Globally position Victoria and Australia in the automotive industry.
