Four new Mobile TAFE projects are set to deliver skills and training to directly to the next generation of workers in regional and remote communities across the Northern Territory.
The federal government is investing $6.9 million for the projects, which will support on-Country education and training opportunities for approximately 700 people in outer regional and remote communities in the NT.
Supported projects include a partnership between SJT Training and the Tiwi Islands Training and Employment Board will receive $2.28 million to deliver a mobile heavy plant and equipment training unit.
A partnership between Dijan Training and Sunrise Health Service Aboriginal Corporation will receive $2.28 million in support to establish a mobile health training facility with training delivery taking place across the Big Rivers region.
The Batchelor Institute will receive $2 million through the program to establish the Civil and Construction Framecad Mobile TAFE project, combining manufacturing and training delivery at the Batchelor Institute with on-Country training linked to active housing and infrastructure projects in remote communities.
A further $413,000 will also go to the Arnhem Mobile Kitchen project, which will provide hospitality training to about 100 learners a year in remote communities across remote Arnhem Land communities.
The Government said another 2,000 participants will benefit from non-accredited outreach activities across remote communities.
Special Envoy for Remote Communities, said mobile TAFE is creating more opportunities for people in remote First Nations communities to build skills closer to home.
"These new community-led Mobile TAFE projects will help ensure more Territorians in remote communities can access the benefits of TAFE; from the Big Rivers region to Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands," Senator McCarthy said.
"These projects have been shaped in partnership with First Nations organisations and will help build the local workforce that remote communities need for the future."
The support package forms part of a $31 million investment across the country to help bridge the gap between remote communities and TAFE and training, and build the local workforce communities need.
Special Envoy for Remote Communities and Member for Lingiari, Marion Scrymgour, congratulated the federal government on an initiative "that will bridge the gap between providing quality training on Country and connecting people with industries that are growing right here in the Territory".
"Remote communities have the skills, ambition and determination to build strong local workforces. The Albanese Government's Mobile TAFE initiative provides nationally accredited and industry-relevant training directly to these communities to deliver the workforces of the future," Ms Scrymgour said.
"Whether it's construction and heavy machinery on the Tiwi Islands, health training in the Big Rivers region, or hospitality training across Arnhem Land, this is about building on the strengths that already exist in our communities."
Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, said the new Mobile TAFE projects will bring high quality training into local communities.
"We're backing people to gain skills closer to home and build careers without having to leave their local community," Mr Giles said.
"When people can train locally, communities benefit from more skilled workers, local employers have improved access to the workforce they need, and more economic opportunities stay in remote communities."
The announcement comes after $5 million was announced to support mobile TAFE training in remote Western Australian communities last month.
