GOTAFE Wangaratta will get a Skills and Jobs Centre following a $ 1 million funding announcement by the State Government. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) announced the funding at GOTAFE Shepparton campus which will share in the funding with Wangaratta and also operate a Skills and Job Centre. Ken McLennan, GOTAFE Wangaratta executive manager strategy and commercial development welcomed the news which he said would create five or six new staff positions at the campus as well as enhance the prospects for all jobseekers in Wangaratta and surrounds. It will be a one-stop shop for all job seekers, from apprentices to retrenched workers, Mr McLennan said. It will build a bridge into business for job seekers. The new hub will provide skills assessments and career counselling for unemployed to prepare them for where the skill gaps are and where the demand is. He said it would bring some greater cohesion to the local employment industry. Ms Symes said the new hubs will be the first pointof-call for students in the Wangaratta area looking to start training, workers needing to reskill, unemployed workers needing support for retraining and work placement, and for employers. The centres will particularly help link local jobseekers and employers to ensure they are engaged in quality training that will lead to a job at the end of their course, Ms Symes said. TAFEs, like GOTAFE, will be the key hub for all the Skills and Jobs Centres across Victoria, ensuring that each of the centres is tailored to meet the needs of local communities and industries, with coordinated, intensive support services. GOTAFE expects both centres to be up and running early next year.