TWO years ago, Yarraville’s Nicholas Margaritis had his future mapped out. Now the 21-year-old boatbuilding apprentice at Williamstown feels he has been cut adrift after Victoria University at Newport axed his course, the last of its kind in Australia.
The state government is today expected to receive a consultant’s report that will decide the fate of Victoria’s boatbuilding apprentices.
Mr Margaritis, having completed two years of his apprenticeship, says he and his mates have been been left high and dry after his marine craft construction course was discontinued.
“Since Victoria University shut the course off, there’s been no information sourced yet for students, no follow-ups on where the course is heading, whether anyone’s going to pick it up, whether we’re going to get a qualification or certificate out of it.
“It’s the last course in Australia.
“It’s just always been my passion: boating and fishing, being on the water. I’ve always wanted to be around boats and work on them.
“It’s just a dark zone at the moment, but hopefully we’ll get through it and get a certificate out of it.”
As revealed by the Weekly last September, the government was accused of investing in “ghost courses” after allocating $1 billion for TAFE courses, including some that had been axed, such as boatbuilding.
At the time, government spokesman James Martin told the Weekly that students would benefit from subsidies for certificate III in marine construction increasing by up to 12 per cent.
But as of this year, there is nowhere for students to enrol in wooden boatbuilding.
Nicholas’s mother, Dora Margaritis, said the situation had been poorly handled by VU. “It is most unfortunate that VU didn’t allow for these students already committed to this course and line of work to complete their learning and training,” she said. “I have contacted VU to ask: what is now my son to do in order to complete his certificate III in marine craft construction?”
Steven Gill, general manager of the Boating Industry Association (BIA) of Victoria, said there was “no doubt that our industry has been let down by VU”. “It would be disastrous for our industry to go any longer without developing the skills and knowledge of boatbuilding,” Mr Gill said.
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan said, “It is devastating Nicholas has been left quite literally high and dry.”
Education Department spokeswoman Vanessa O’Shaughnessy said staff were working with the BIA and Kangan Institute “to ensure that apprentices who were doing boatbuilding courses have an alternative pathway to complete their apprenticeship”.
“The government is working in partnership with the Boating Industry Association of Victoria, boating industry employers, training providers and past students, with the aim of developing a sustainable boatbuilding course to be delivered in Victoria.”
A VU spokeswoman said arrangements had been made with Kangan for boatbuilding students.
