A last-ditch bid to save Balclutha's Employment Plus training scheme will be lodged today as officials attempt to convince the Government it and others around the country should be saved.
The Tertiary Education Commission (Tec) recently confirmed it would boost Training Opportunities Programme (Tops) coffers by $7.6 million, but Salvation Army Tops national manager George Borthwick said that was only "about three-quarters" of the money originally cut from the programme for 2009.
Mr Borthwick and other Tops management met Tec officials yesterday to try to convince them to fully fund both the Balclutha and Dunedin youth training programmes.
After that meeting, Mr Borthwick said he was "50% confident, maybe a bit more than that" of getting a favourable outcome.
Tec officials hope to announce its final decision by the middle of this month.
The Balclutha scheme has been in the balance for nearly two years.
Tops managers first proposed closing it in February 2007, but businesses, local government and others convinced them to change their minds subject to regular financial and performance reviews.
The existing Tec funding package for Balclutha would reduce training numbers from 16 to eight, effectively making the programme unviable, Mr Borthwick said.
