Australian Training Awards Magazine 2010 - Department of ...

TOP-NOTCH TRAINING
TAFE NSW—Western Sydney Institute
2010 Large Training Provider of the Year
The Large Training Provider of the Year award is presented to a registered
training organisation with more than 1500 enrolled students for
outstanding delivery of vocational education.
It was a case of second time lucky for TAFE
NSW—Western Sydney Institute (WSI),
which, after being a finalist in 2009, took out
top honours at this year’s awards ceremony.
Institute Director, Susan Hartigan, says the
award recognises the important contribution
her organisation makes to the western
Sydney region and particularly its focus
on providing the best possible vocational
education and training to individuals,
enterprises and communities.
‘TAFE NSW—Western Sydney Institute has
gained a reputation for being responsive
to the training needs of individuals and for
its leadership in developing sustainable
practices,’ Susan says.
‘We provide education and training that
meets industry’s future skills needs, including
the new ‘green collar’ sector as well as the
traditional trades and professions, and we do
this using flexible and accessible
delivery modes.’
Reflecting on WSI’s success at both the
national and state level (it has been named
NSW Large Training Provider of the Year for
the last two years), Susan says the strategic
decision to reform its business model
was critical.
‘In 2009 we adopted a market-based approach
to positively impact on enterprise productivity
and sustainability and individual aspirations,
and build community capacity in the region,’
she says.
‘We wanted to position the institute as a
corporate partner to local industry.’
Susan says the shift to a market-based approach
demands that her organisation be more
entrepreneurial and more responsive to its
customers.
‘As a result [of the shift] we have expanded
our range of enterprise-based workforce
development services and strengthened our ties
with industry and community organisations.’
One of these is the Western Sydney GreenSkills
Hub—the first vocational education and training
facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere—
at Nirimba College in Quaker’s Hill, which
opened in November 2010.
This state-of-the-art facility models sustainable
practices and provides innovative training
opportunities for students in the subject areas
of green electrical engineering, plumbing,
refrigeration and information technology.
WSI is the largest training organisation in
western Sydney and covers a geographic area
that extends from Parramatta in the east to the
Blue Mountains in the west and includes the
rapidly expanding area of north-west Sydney.
The institute services a range of industries,
including tourism, agriculture, manufacturing,
transport and logistics, property and financial
and retail services.
It provides more than 1000 courses at
local colleges throughout the region and by
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Australian Training Awards Magazine 2010