Community concern has been raised at the sale of the 17.9 hectare Scone TAFE campus site, despite promises from the NSW Government that no agriculture courses or farms skills training will be affected.
Colliers International has listed the campus for sale, and NSW TAFE managing director, Steffen Faurby, has said this was a campus that was "substantially underutilised" and had become a maintenance burden.
Mr Faurby gave assurances that no agriculture courses would be affected or delivery to Hunter Valley farmers, as education would move (coupled with leaseback options at the existing site) to the new multi-purpose Connected Learning Centre (CLC) in central Scone.
Practical aspects of welding and chainsaw operation courses would happen through a TAFE mobile training unit that will be attached to the high-tech CLC, he said.
"None of this will change," Mr Faurby said, and he promised money from the sale would bolster Scone TAFE operations, including a range of new courses such as in aged care and hospitality.
The move, supported by Upper Hunter MP Michael Johnsen and TAFE Minister Geoff Lee, has brought into highlight what will be the future delivery of ag skills to farmers and also how desperately needed qualified ag trainees will flow through the system to farm jobs.
Mr Faurby assured that no further sales of regional campuses were planned.
But some members of the scone community and landholders are sceptical the new CLC will help give students and farmers practical skills.
Merriwa farmer Annie Rodgers completed a welding course at Scone TAFE during the drought. She said she was "absolutely horrified" that the campus was being sold. "So many landholders from the Upper Hunter have done courses there," she said. The CLC was not "ideal" for teaching practical skills such as welding. "They should try and grow the existing campus."
The campus also houses Local Land Services that joins with TAFE to provide and design farm courses. The LLS has been offered a year-on-year leaseback arrangement - with a three-year limit. Scone TAFE is also providing bushfire recovery skills to Mid North Coast farmers, including fencing and chainsaw operation, farrier courses, and training to five correctional centres.
A head teacher at Scone, Stuart Murphy, also wonders how practical skills can be properly taught at the CLC as the current campus provides certified safe training areas. Speaking as a community member and farmer, Mr Murphy said Scone was one of four rural skills hubs established by the NSW Government several years ago.
The sale had gone ahead despite submissions that it would be better to keep the current campus site running.
Mr Murphy questioned how much the local community was consulted.
He said COVID restrictions had affected how many students could attend the campus last year, and the demand was still high for Cert 3 courses. This had affected funding for courses.
At the moment it was business as usual but his belief was that "you can't deliver practical skills in a Connected Learning Centre". There was also the issue of accessibility to the new CLC right in town with parking.
He helped get the LLS to be based at the campus and this had helped initiate a number of joint courses that had been very successful with the Hunter Valley farming community.
"Quite honestly the community is up in arms about it (the sale)," he said.
Mr Murphy had spent a lot of time teaching in the Hunter, including woolclassing many years ago at Tocal. His curent role as Co-ordinator for Bushfire Recovery and Drought Courses had meant he also travelled to the Mid North Coast to help give farmers the skills they needed to get properties up and running again after the fires.
We have an opportunity to enhance the equine training capabilities in the horse capital and cement our place as a global player in equine excellence.
- Upper Hunter Nationals MP Michael Johnsen, on what may happen with the Scone campus after its sale.
TAFE chief Steffen Faurby though was adamant no damage would be done to practical learning at Scone.
"For Scone for the last couple of years there has been significant underutilisation of the facilities which have been sitting idle, and that require a significant amount of maintenance to be kept up to safety standards," he said.
"By offering to others to buy the campus site we can free up funds to reinvest in more modern facilities and maintain our strong presence. TAFE NSW is continuing to grow and not only will we continue to provide skills to the agricultural sector but also in new areas such as aged care and veterinary nursing.
"Only a few years ago there were only five qualifications available at Scone, now there are 14." These included Cert 2 and 3 in Agriculture, cert 3 in Hospitality, and cert 4 in Farrier work and cert 4 in vet nursing.
'We are responding to what skills industry and the Scone community want," he said.
"All such things such as asbestos removal, fence building, chainsaw operation, these courses will not change. They will only be strengthened."
The CLC offered a modern classroom experience, while the mobile training unit would provide practical skills in the same way as the campus. "TAFE is actually becoming more flexible to attend to local needs," he said.
He said the ag industry was crying out for more skilled farm workers and TAFE was doing its bit to fast track them through the system.
The main courses students sought in ag in NSW were for farmhands, shearing, bush regeneration and wool handling.
There is a strong rumour the campus will be sold as a future equine industry training centre, with Racing NSW mooted as a possible buyer.
Local MP Michael Johnsen backed the move and sale of the campus, hoping a new owner would create an equine training facility.
"I have no objection to TAFE NSW seeking expressions of interest for the sale of the TAFE NSW site located at 2 Flemington Drive in Scone, and I strongly believe the facility should remain as a local educational place for equine and agricultural courses, delivered by a registered training organisation," Mr Johnsen said in a letter to The Land.
"We have an opportunity to enhance the equine training capabilities in the horse capital and cement our place as a global player in equine excellence.
"This will fit in with the future plans and job opportunities within our equine and agricultural industries.
"If a suitable purchaser is interested, any net funds from a sale of the site should be invested in capital upgrades for other local TAFE NSW facilities.
"TAFE NSW regularly assesses its facility requirements in line with course delivery to ensure that the needs of students, employers and the local community are met.
"Scone does of course have a new world class TAFE NSW facility at our Connected Learning Centre and many courses are able to be delivered through the CLC and offsite, which is particularly suitable having TAFE NSW teachers delivering courses where students are often employed, and thereby taking away the burden of having students being required to travel when they don't need to.
"Equine delivery will continue from Scone via the new multi-million dollar Scone Connected Learning Centre (CLC). TAFE NSW will continue to deliver both the theoretical and practical components of training. The theoretical component will be delivered by the Connected Learning Centre's adaptable learning spaces. The practical training will be delivered through either the negotiated leaseback of part of the property with the successful purchaser of the Flemington Drive site, or transferring practical training to a local employment setting.
"There are no redundancies related to the sale of the Scone property."
Tertiary Education Minister Geoff Lee said: "The NSW Government is committed to delivering high-quality agriculture training in Scone and across the state.
"By working closely with local industry and employers, TAFE NSW has been able to triple the number of courses it offers at Scone over the last 12 months, expanding the range of training to meet local skills needs in agriculture, as well as individual support, micro business operations, real estate practice, and ageing support.
"As Minister I am committed to TAFE NSW remaining a comprehensive public provider."
The Land was waiting for a response from Racing NSW to see if it was interested in buying the campus site. It is believed one of the pressures on the racing industry is also a lack of skilled workers after COVID stopped the normal flow of backpackers to the industry whom historically have helped in a myriad of equine handling areas from strapping, track riding to stud duties.