The Victorian Government says new training partnerships aimed at strengthening the state’s manufacturing workforce will help address skills shortages and prepare workers for jobs in advanced industries.
In a media release, the government announced that five partnerships will share $1.7 million under the second round of the Skills Solutions Partnerships (SSP) program, which supports collaboration between industry and training providers to design and deliver courses that target specific workforce gaps.
The initiative includes a project led by South West Institute of TAFE and Melbourne Polytechnic, working with several manufacturing businesses to help entry-level manufacturing workers build skills in using advanced technologies.
According to the Victorian Government, the SSP program is designed to support industries by developing training aligned with real workplace needs.
The partnerships involve businesses working directly with education providers to co-design courses intended to address critical skill shortages.
Other projects supported in the second round include a partnership between Victoria University and Microsoft to train workers for roles in data centres, as well as a collaboration between the Gordon Institute of TAFE, Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong and Edencraft International focused on training engineers to work with advanced fibre composites.
Additional initiatives involve Chisholm Institute, Sutton Tools and the Australian Manufacturing Technology Institute Limited (AMTIL), which will deliver precision measurement training aimed at advanced manufacturing.
Another partnership involving RMIT University, Memko, Navantia, Leap Australia and Engineers Education Australia will develop training intended to strengthen Victoria’s capability to contribute to the AUKUS defence program.
The Victorian Government said the projects are aligned with priority sectors identified in the state’s Economic Growth Statement, including advanced manufacturing, defence and digital technologies.
Expressions of interest for the third round of the Skills Solutions Partnerships program are now open and will close on 27 March 2026.
Businesses and training providers interested in participating can apply through the Business Victoria website.
