Chinese award Central TAFE diploma program

Training Minister Peter Collier has congratulated Central TAFE after it received honours from the Ministry of Education in China for developing an engineering diploma.

The College won a Teaching Outcome Award for its work with China's Tianjin Engineering Technical Institute (TJETI) in creating the Diploma in Engineering (Oil and Gas) qualification.

"The sheer size of the Chinese education system means that winning such an award is a great achievement and a glowing endorsement of the Western Australian training industry," Mr Collier said.

"The award is the latest milestone in the trend of the State's training colleges exporting their skills and building long-term strategic alliances with overseas partners.

"WA continues to be committed to promoting these opportunities and enabling our training colleges to operate in a market environment which promotes creativity, enterprise and strategic leadership."

The Minister said Central TAFE developed a unique curriculum for TJETI involving industry groups which had direct input into the training to ensure graduating students had the skills they required.

"The qualification brings with it the guarantee of a job with employers associated with the program," he said.

"Central TAFE has had a presence in China for more than 10 years and this latest award indicates how WA training continues to make highly valued contributions to the country's economic needs.

"The provincial and national awards are very prestigious and highly valued by institutions throughout China as it gives them higher status within the education system."

The international partnership was the only one to win an award, competing against more than 100 universities and colleges.

The two institutions are now in the running for the national awards in 2010.