Staff face the axe

By Nicole Williams
CHISHOLM Institute staff are at risk of losing their jobs, with the tertiary provider yesterday announcing the reduction of 220 staff by the end of the year.
At a meeting at the Dandenong campus, Chisholm Institute chief executive Maria Peters said they would be forced to reduce staff following the State Government’s $290 million budget cuts to the states’ TAFE system.
Staff will now have until 21 September to apply for voluntary redundancy and then the institute will evaluate where the remainder of the jobs will be cut from.
Chisholm operates principally in the southeast of Melbourne – with campuses in Cranbourne, Berwick and Dandenong.
Ms Peters revealed to staff at the meeting that the institute had revised the effect of the government cuts on them from $25 million to $30 million.
Ms Peters said the good news was that no campuses would close.
“We take our commitment to the communities around us very seriously, and we will not be closing campuses,” she said.
Ms Peters said they would still be offering 230 courses under the Victorian Training Guarantee, but there were doubts about the survival of some courses not offered under this funding in 2013.
Courses without 2013 resource allocation under the Victorian Training Guarantee were in vocational areas including business administration and legal services, sport and fitness, food and meat processing, marketing, liberal arts, ceramics and areas of hospitality and events. These may be offered as fee for service, to be determined by market need.
“The key objectives that have guided our course delivery strategy for 2013 are: market need, building on our industry strengths, building niche areas required by industry, providing access, ensuring both VET and higher education pathways exist for individuals in our communities and financial sustainability,” Ms Peters said.
“We will offer all VETiS programs to our school partners, but courses in some vocational areas will be offered as fee for service only, given the retraction of government funding.”
Chisholm is also set to announce its fee structure for courses in 2013 and will be introducing payment options for students to guarantee continued access to training education.