Industry relationships will be the key to future directions for Kangan Institute.
Incoming chief executive Grant Sutherland is charged with ensuring Kangan Institute works to a sustainable business model, requiring the executive to anticipate the needs of industry sectors, many of which are undergoing fundamental change.
“Kangan can play an even greater role in assisting local industries and the local economy in transition,” Sutherland told the Weekly last week, seven weeks into a new role that has brought him from The Gordon TAFE college at Geelong to Broadmeadows, home to Ford and the automotive industry.
He spent 14 years at The Gordon, starting as executive director for business development then acting as chief executive before his permanent appointment to the top job in 2006.
Kangan Institute’s automotive courses and its textile faculty are traditional industry strengths of Melbourne’s north.
“I believe Kangan has a leadership role here, to upskill retrenched and displaced workers,” he says.
“And more than that, there is a role to work with local government and other stakeholders, to drive that job creation we need and bring forth new and emerging industries.”
The TAFE sector, including Kangan, has been hit hard by about $300 million of state government funding cuts, with hundreds of staff members losing their jobs.
One of Sutherland’s priorities is to ensure Kangan is at the round table of players involved in the Ford recovery plan for the north. He sees opportunities that run counter to the predicted demise of manufacturing as a pillar of the Victorian economy.
“There is a role for manufacturing – it’s just not going to look like it has for the past 30 years,” he says.
“Don’t discount the skills base we have. It’s going to be a matter of using that skills base we have now and taking it to other levels.
“And I do believe that Kangan has a leadership role at this critical point in time, with company closures and job losses.
“More than ever, it’s not just about assisting workers but ensuring a focus on job creation.’’
