Federation TAFE appoints new campus director

Christine Brown comes to the newly-created role of campus director with more than 20 years of experience in the VET sector.

The campus director role will function much like the school's previous head of campus position, however, will be a part of the executive team of Federation TAFE, which will tie the campus more closer to the organisation's leadership.

Ms Brown said she hopes to strengthen ties with the community and Wimmera's key industries moving forward.

"The role is really about responsiveness to the community, industry and making sure there is a contact person that can be responsive to students," she said.

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"Looking at growth and enrollments, effective leadership of the campus, ensuring that we look towards long-term sustainability and ensuring this is a hub for the community."

Ms Brown's vocational training career began in the aged care sector as a teacher.

Before beginning her role at Federation TAFE, she worked her way through various roles in education, including a senior leadership position with Bendigo Kangan TAFE's Automotive Centre of Excellence.

She said she was driven by a passion for helping people grow through learning.

"I have always had a passion for helping people transform their lives through vocational education and training," she said.

"In my 22 years in the sector, I have been able to see a lot of people transform their lives starting off in pre-apprenticeship programs, going off into higher education and other pathway programs."

Ms Brown said her short-term goals were to work with the Victorian Skills Authority to develop the Wimmera's Skill Plan, which will better guide the strategic planning of the TAFE.

Co-location and developing a wider relationship with industry were also front-of-mind, as well as supporting students' return to in-person learning.

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"Across the entire VET sector that was a reduction in numbers, not so much in trades or apprenticeship numbers, but across the Victorian VET sector, there was a significant reduction in numbers. So everyone in the sector has a job to do in getting people to reengage," she said.

The appointment comes after Federation University opened its Horsham Research Hub, an extension of the organisation's Future Regions Research Centre.

"We are not going anywhere. The investment is there and we have those types of things happening already. There is more coming," she said.

Federation TAFE chief executive Liam Sloan congratulated Ms Brown on her appointment and said it underscored the importance of the Wimmera campus in the organisation's masterplan.

"We recognise the important role that we play in the region, so we have strengthened the voice of our Wimmera Campus by creating a new Director position as an integral part of the Federation TAFE senior leadership team," he said.

"Christine is well qualified to take on this important role and she will work hard to ensure we are best placed to provide training in the sectors that need skilled workers now."

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