Opening Ceremony Celebrates the Completion of WEA Sydney’s Infrastructure Building Project

On Monday, 13 September, a formal opening ceremony was held in the renovated student lounge area of the ground floor of WEA House, at 72 Bathurst St, Sydney, to celebrate the completion of WEA Sydney’s Federal-government funded year-long infrastructure building project.

The ceremony featured short talks by the Honourable Tanya Plibersek, Federal Member for Sydney, and the Minister for Human Services and for Social Inclusion; by WEA Sydney’s President Leth Maitland; and by Michael Newton, WEA Sydney Executive Director.  The speeches addressed the background of the project, which was part of the 2009 Federal Government economic stimulus activity and the actual work undertaken, and how it would assist WEA Sydney’s mission and presentation of vocational education courses.  Thanks were passed to all involved in the project – architect, project manager, builders, lift technicians, WEA Board and Council members, and finally WEA’s staff, tutors and student body.  A plaque was then unveiled, signifying acknowledgement of the government funding, to the applause of the gathering of invited guests, staff and students. 

The renovations of WEA House had included the full refurbishment of its two main lifts, completed in late July, and the renovation of Floor 2 with the opening of state-of-art vocational education training rooms in February.

Equally importantly, the front entrance area of WEA House was also completely revamped during the first half of 2010.  Reopened in early June, this renovation area now features sensor-operating doors, an entrance ramp for wheelchair access, a lift for mobility-disadvantaged students, and extensive revisions to the student lounge area, right next door to the WEA Sydney Library.  Direct access to the basement level of WEA House (with its designated disabled parking area) is now also available, with the re-establishment of Lift #1.

The end result of all this activity is a revitalised WEA House, with its services and facilities ready for another decade of providing quality courses for all Sydney-siders.

This project was funded by the Australian Government through the Teaching and Learning Capital Fund (TLCF) for Vocational Education and Training (VET).