The facility will be located on the north-west corner of the Williamstown Seaworks site overlooking the harbour.

VU acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Anne Jones said: “Victoria University will showcase its boat building training activities at this new facility. It will be built in such a way as to allow the community to see trainees as they are learning their skills.”

“We want people who are interested in boatbuilding to be able to see the training happening and see the boats in all aspects of their planning and construction.”

Courses offered at VU include a Certificate III in Marine Craft Construction and cover repair maintenance and construction of boats, working with wood and other materials.

Eric Sandberg, boatbuilding teacher at VU is excited about the new facility.

“The facility will represent a more current and modern reflection of what is out in the industry,” Mr Sandberg said

“It will be much more indicative of what the future holds for boatbuilding and craftsmanship as well as maintaining the traditional.

“Boatbuilding is changing all the time. Staying up-to-date is important.”

It is has been estimated that the new training facility will be in use next year.

Mr Sandberg told Star: “Our presence in that whole precinct will be a plus to Williamstown. The precinct will mirror the history of the area and our site will be a perfect fit.”