The NSW Coalition says a "connected learning centre" in Batemans Bay would boost the number of TAFE courses on offer. Speaking at the Hanging Rock education precinct on Wednesday, Feburary 13, Assistant Skills Minister Adam Marshall said an appropriate site was yet to be determined, but the budget was an estimated $8 million. "We would love to keep it in this education precinct; I know that it the wish of the mayor and the council," he said. "At the moment we are offering about 10 courses, most of them part qualifications. "We will easily be able to quadruple that offering (with) full qualifications." He said the centre would allow online study and would complement the Moruya TAFE trades centre, "without people needing to leave Batemans Bay, or at worse being able to study most of their course here and finishing off some of the practical components at Moruya". "It combines face-to-face learning with harnessing technology to make sure we can deliver the courses students want to study, regardless of whether there is only one or two students," Mr Marshall said. "They will be linked with students and teachers from around the state." RELATED CONTENT: See a video simulation of a connected learning centre here. The minister said the courses would be determined after consultation with industry and the council. READ MORE: Labor says TAFE will deliver solar future Bega MP and Infrastructure Minister Andrew Constance said he was "blown away" after visiting a similar centre in Bega. "We could see virtual teaching of plumbing, welding," he said. "To have 43 new courses on top of the 26 offered through the trade centre in Bega is extraordinary. We are going to replicate that in the Eurobodalla. "I would urge people to look at what has happened in Bega. It was up within seven months." He hoped Batemans Bay High School would work with the centre. "High schools are using them four out of five days per week to skill up kids for their careers," he said. Eurobodalla Shire Mayor Liz Innes welcomed the announcement "not only as a mayor, but as a mother". "For as along as I have been living in this area we have seen our youth missing out on opportunities and having to leave the area," she said. She said hospitality, tourism and aged care were important. "If you look at aged care and the need that will be there in the next decades, we need to make sure our youth have opportunities in that space," she said. "The building industry is going from strength and if you look at the rural sector, these are very exciting days." Councillor Maureen Nathan said she knew a young man who hoped to move to Wollongong, "but can't afford to live there". "He is now looking for a job here in the Eurobodalla so he can save to go there; this opportunity is massive," she said. "When I came here, there was not a high school. My son was one of the first graduates from Batemans Bay High School. They want to be productive."