The new Port Augusta Technical College will provide students with direct pathways to jobs such as electricians, engineers, boilermakers, and gas fitters.

Students will go from in-school to in-demand with real career opportunities through dedicated industry partnerships.

The Port Augusta Technical College – which will open in 2025 – will provide modern facilities for hundreds of school students each year to train with employers for careers in key industries in the region.

This will include a focus on key streams such as manufacturing and construction, mining and mineral processing and renewable energy.

The technical college will be co-located at Port Augusta Secondary College with ARM Architecture appointed to do the design. Construction will begin later this year.

“The Port Augusta Technical College is an exciting prospect for our students and school community. Its construction is already anticipated with enthusiasm across our school and wider community” said Port Augusta Secondary School Principal Simon Owens.

“We welcome its construction and can see many benefits to having it operate in conjunction with the exceptional learning already taking place at Port Augusta Secondary School.

“Students will benefit from having access to these new training facilities and it will lead to significant job opportunities.

“It can only enhance the future for the large group of young people that will experience the opportunities that the technical college can provide.”

This is the latest milestone in the delivery of the State Government’s $208.8 million commitment to build five technical colleges across South Australia. There will be two regional technical colleges – Port Augusta and Mount Gambier – and three in metropolitan Adelaide – Findon, Tonsley and Modbury Heights.

The new technical colleges will support students in years 10 to 12 to complete their SACE while undertaking vocational education and training (VET).

The Port Augusta Technical College will complement the learning programs and vocational pathways at Port Augusta Secondary School, providing alternative training and education opportunities for senior secondary students while enrolled in school.

The technical college will also partner with local employers and industry and will be designed to ensure they replicate the look, feel and flow of industry workplaces, and create an environment that provides practical, hands-on skills training that is valued by industry and will lead to jobs of the future.