NEWS
NATIONAL
Labor targets Coalition over skills crisis LABOR HAS CRITICISED THE Coalition over almost a billion dollars of unspent funding committed for vocational education and training programs, and its contribution to the skills shortage already felt by several industries, including rail. The education department in October released its 2018/19 annual report revealing it had spent less than was budgeted for key programs including trade support loans ($68 million under), Australian Apprenticeships Centres ($51 million under) and apprenticeship incentives ($35 million under). The government underspent $214m in vocational education and training programs in the last financial year, contributing to a total $919m underspend since 2014. The result, the Opposition says, is 150,000 fewer Australians in apprenticeships now than in 2013. With a significant skills shortage already affecting the rail industry, an underspend on TAFE training is likely an unwelcome result when the pipeline for new work has never been bigger. Shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, accused the government of “[shortchanging] TAFE and training by $1bn despite the fact Australia is suffering a national shortage of tradies”. “We’ve got the lowest number of apprentices and trainees in 10 years,” she said on October 23. “This is in the face of skills shortages right across Australia … three quarters of employers tell us that they can’t find the skilled staff they need.”
Labor leader Anthony Albanese visiting apprentices in WA.
Skills and employment minister, Michaelia Cash, rejected the attack, arguing the figures “represent underspends which come from demand-driven programs in vocational education and training”. But according to Labor’s analysis of annual reports, the underspend has been persistent. Labor’s figures suggest the government spent $138m less than promised in 2014/15, $247 million less in 2015/16, $118 million less in 2016/17 and $202 million less in 2017/18. “This is money that, year after year, is being underspent by the government. Money that is there, that is waiting, that’s in the bank ready to go and this government doesn’t have the wit to spend it,” Plibersek said.
Shadow education minister, Tanya Plibersek, says the government is not doing enough to address a shortage in new apprenticeships.
8
ISSUE 9 2019 | RAIL EXPRESS
The same week Labor targeted the Coalition over the skills crisis, Victoria and NSW’s state governments both announced programs aimed at boosting TAFE figures. The NSW government announced a new program to incentivise study at TAFE, by allowing students to receive recognition for what they have already learnt in high school. “We are incentivising high-achieving HSC students into our vocational education sector by giving them a head-start at TAFE NSW,” said Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Geoff Lee. “We will do this by mapping HSC units to vocational competencies and allowing eligible students to proceed straight to assessments.” HSC subjects that could qualify for these new TAFE pathways include mathematics, engineering studies, industrial technology and, software design and development. Victoria, in turn, announced it would inject $500,000 for its Free TAFE courses to develop educational products and resources for Free TAFE students to have access to. The funding will also go towards additional modules for Free TAFE students to build their literacy, numeracy, digital and employability skills. In the 2019 budget, the federal government announced a $525m skills package – including towards the creation of 80,000 new apprenticeships – but it contained just $55m of new money and $463m in reallocations from the Skilling Australians Fund.
www.railexpress.com.au
