There are no classes and only administrative staff work on the site, but TAFE Illawarra says its Dapto campus isn’t closing – yet.
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A question mark still hangs over the near-empty college, which last year found itself on the state government’s sale hit-list, and what its future may hold.
However, the operator of the facility has refuted claims doors will shut for good next week. “We still have staff; that [Dapto campus] is still a government facility … that we’re maintaining and we still have staff there on-site,” TAFE Illawarra Institute director Dianne Murray told the Mercury on Wednesday.
“It’s a facility that needs to be maintained, it needs to be looked after and people can still get information that they want from a TAFE perspective at that site.”
Speculation surfaced via Shellharbour MP Anna Watson this week the campus, which has resembled a ghost town for almost a year, would close on January 22.
On that day, Department of Education corporate services staff – who work with schools and have been located on the site for a “number of years” – will move out.
“They’re relocating to Department of Education [premises] or other sites because they’re not TAFE staff,” she said. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent to keep the ailing campus open, despite the last group of students finishing their training there in October.
“If we’re expending $650,000 of our annual budget to operate a facility that’s not viable, we’re better off spending that money to invest in better ways [to offer training],” she said.
“From a TAFE NSW asset perspective, there needs to be a decision made about the best use of that [Dapto] facility and that’s part of an overall asset strategy.”
The campus has struggled to attract students in recent years, largely due to its inability to run specialised courses.
No trade courses have run there for more than 10 years, Ms Murray said. “They’re the courses students are looking for, because they’re the skill levels that employers are looking for,” she said.
The Mercury reported in August police officers had been seen looking at the Dapto TAFE site. “Officers receive ongoing training at locations across NSW,” a NSW Police statement said.
“From time to time, NSW Police negotiates with the owners of particular sites in metropolitan and regional areas to facilitate our training activities.” NSW Minister for Skills John Barilaro’s office said he had “no more to add”.
