The Minister for Education and Skills, Nick McKim together with the newly-appointed CEO of TasTAFE, Stephen Conway, today announced that the establishment of TasTAFE on 1 July is on track.

Mr McKim and Stephen Conway unveiled the brand for TasTAFE at the Clarence Campus today, along with the design of the new organisation, and 'answers to frequently asked questions'.

"I'll be introducing legislation to Parliament in autumn to establish TasTAFE on 1 July.

"The legislation includes a clause where the Tasmanian Polytechnic and Tasmanian Skills Institute are merged and continued as TasTAFE.

"This means subject to the passage of this legislation, when Polytechnic and Skills Institute staff wake on 1 July they will automatically be TasTAFE staff, and students will continue their 2013 courses without disruption," Mr McKim said.

Mr McKim said the second half of 2013 will be a settling-in period for TasTAFE as courses, programs and services provided by both the Tasmanian Skills Institute and Polytechnic continue.

"There will be no radical change to operations as a result of the two organisations being merged and continued as TasTAFE.

"Existing staff will build a strong TasTAFE, permanency arrangements will be honoured, and a revitalised governance structure will guide transparent decision making.

Mr McKim said Mr Conway has already met with a wide range of people interested in the future of TasTAFE since taking up his position earlier this year, including employers, enterprises and staff.

"Stephen has developed a set of features and principles for the organisational design of TasTAFE, and a set of interesting ideas worth further exploration.

"Next week, Stephen will begin his second state-wide tour of campuses and discuss the organisational design of TasTAFE with staff.

"Consultation and communication is vital and publicly sharing this information will ease staff anxiety about the new organisational features of TasTAFE," he said.

Mr McKim said a new logo had also been developed for TasTAFE.

"The symbol is a series of interlocking arcs arranged in a form that represents growth, development and progress and also reflects the idea that the core operations of TasTAFE have an effect on the broader social community and, in turn, the Tasmanian economy - a ripple effect.

"Answers to frequently asked questions have also been developed and explain how the seamless transition to the new organisation will occur for staff and students," he said.

For further information please visit: www.education.tas.gov.au