Workers and students alike have been left in the lurch after the Delacombe-based training provider Journey Management Group went into liquidation late last week. 

In a notice to students, liquidator David Ross of Hall Chadwick Chartered Accountants says the company stopped trading at the close of business on Friday.

“As a result, the training and courses provided by the company will no longer be available to students,” the statement says.

“As liquidator I will be working with Skills Victoria to identify any available companies that may provide similar training and courses for the company’s students to transition into if possible.”

Further communication with students is expected to take place via email.

Mr Ross said said the closure was communicated across all Journey Management sites on Friday, including the Bendigo Skills Training Centre at Victoria Street, Eaglehawk.

The forklift and excavator training provider had bases at Ballarat, Warrnambool and Geelong as well as a spate of offices across regional Victoria in locations such as Portland, Bendigo, Shepparton, Hamilton and Horsham.  

Company director Shane Blakeborough had also been in charge Geelong-based transport company Transtex, which went into liquidation in late 2017.   

Student Peter Steele told The Courier he was due to attend class this morning before receiving notification about the liquidation at 8am.  He was due to complete three courses across four days.

“I was driving there from Creswick when I got the message,” Mr Steele said. 

“I’d been organising this for three weeks and last week I had called up to change times and they said that was fine.

Mr Steele said he had already paid the company hundreds of dollars and was not expecting to see it back. 

A statement on the gate at Journey’s Delacombe site, posted by Mr Ross said, “I will be working with Skills Victoria to identify any available companies that may provide similar training and courses for the company’s students to transition if possible”. 

In his web-based notice to students, the liquidator encouraged students to call the Hall Chadwick office on (08) 8943 0645 or to email journeymanagement@hallchadwick.com.au with any inquiries.