ONE hundred Bendigo TAFE jobs have been axed and its Kyneton campus will close after state government cuts to TAFE funding.
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Bendigo TAFE announced the job losses today.
Twenty-five teaching positions will be axed immediately with 75 management and support positions to be made redundant by December.
Thirty-nine non-viable courses, mostly business ones, will be closed. Teaching hours will be also be increased.
The staff involved in the cuts will be informed within the coming days.
"These are very difficult decisions and we certainly regret that redundancies of our people are both necessary and unavoidable," Bendigo TAFE chief executive officer Maria Simpson said.
"The changes to fees and subsidies in the state budget have a full year impact on Bendigo TAFE of around $9 million a year - about a quarter of our income."
Victorian Secretary of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Colin Long said rallies were being planned.
“These cuts are just the latest in a long line of job losses, course reductions and campus closures that have taken place since the Victorian Government announced it would slash TAFE funding in the May budget,” he said.
“Today’s job losses in Bendigo are not just terrible news for the individuals concerned.
“The TAFE4all campaign will continue and further rallies and are being planned.”
Ms Simpson urged employers and potential students to support Bendigo TAFE.
"We have a long history of delivering high quality vocational educational training opportunities for Bendigo and the region," she said.
"We will continue to work with government employers and other education providers to explore opportunities that would open up or extend courses that are needed by the community and have the potential to increase the viability of Bendigo TAFE."