Minister for Skills John Barilaro announced on Wednesday last week the state’s 10 TAFE institutes would become one overarching, multi-campus operation – part of “once-in-a-generation reforms” of the sector.

The change comes into effect immediately but it is unclear how TAFE Illawarra will be effected. 

As part of the change a new digital education headquarters will be created to deliver more online and in-workplace training in a move the government says will expand TAFE's reach and reverse the huge recent decline in enrolments.

TAFE Illawarra Bega campus Teachers Federation representative David Grainger is concerned the push towards online learning could have a negative affect on students and could also mean job losses at the local campus. 

“The Bega campus is a fantastic resource and I would hate to see it downsized and for students to suffer,” he said. 

Mr Grainger’s concerns lay in that every person learns differently and he believes streamlining the approach could make TAFE more difficult for people who learn best with hands-on demonstrations and face-to-face discussions. 

“There are other parts to learning including access to a counsellor or a careers advisor and being able to go to a library and be assisted by a trained librarian,” he said. 

“These other services can mean the difference between success and failure for many local students.”

The announcement last week did not go into detail on how it will be implemented and Mr Grainger said this is the main problem as he is “more worried about what wasn’t announced”. 

“My concern is these changes could mean the end of the Bega campus as we know it,” he said.

Mr Barilaro assured Fairfax media on Tuesday, July 18, that there were no plans in place to close the TAFE Illawarra Bega campus but wouldn’t go into details. 

“Where there is a TAFE today, there will be a TAFE in the future,” Mr Barilaro said. “TAFE is not leaving town.”