DANDENONG students were shocked to find their classes had ended before the school year started after a computertraining college plummeted into voluntary administration and took millions of dollars of course fees with it.
With no potential buyers, administrators at Melbournebased Ferrier Hodgson have this week recommended the company “be wound up”, or liquidated.
The company was formerly known as, and owned by, Spherion, and had a popular Victorian branch in Dandenong’s Thomas Street.
Across Australia, the company trained over 1300 students each year, and as a private education provider took fees from students in advance.
The Star has learned from some students that they had taken out loans up to $13,000 to pay for their tuition.
Chances are slim that the $2 million in fees paid upfront to Computer Power will be regained without the sale of the company.
Ferrier Hodgson partner and administrator James Stewart said the unsecure fees were an “unfortunate consequence” for students.
“This business was losing $300,000 a month and it had a clear problem,” he said.
Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) spokeswoman Julianna Stackpool said the council would come to the rescue of students who still had to complete their courses by helping them to find a suitable alternative through ASTAS.
The program will be enacted for just the second time since its inception in 2002 to help students find another provider offering similar courses, and at discounted or subsidised rates depending on the supplier.
Latest
Bruce in Labor’s hands
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gears up for another run following the Labor Party’s win at the federal election, so too does Julian Hill...
