STUDENTS are returning to TAFE this week to a very nasty surprise - massive increases in course fees and fewer courses to enrol in.
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For example, students enrolled in the Certificate III in Agriculture at Goulburn TAFE will be paying $2170 for first qualification or trainee, $2600 for second qualification, and $8850 if the student already holds a certificate IV in another area.
We are a region that is supporting growth in the aged care industry – students enrolled in Certificate III in Aged Care will be hit with up to $6100 in fees if they hold another qualification at Certificate IV level.
We have a national policy that young people must learn or earn.
Jobs for untrained young workers are few and far between, and our regional youth unemployment rates are up around 15 per cent well above the national average.
In regional NSW, we are trying to encourage our farm hands to have at least a Certificate 2 or Certificate 3, because those courses cover important aspects of Occupational Health and Safety, Use of Pesticides, First Aid and Safe use of Chain Saws. Course costs like this are beyond the capacity of most of them, and many farming families.
For the kids in regional areas who often have to travel long distances, or study online, these course costs are a huge disincentive.
Socially and economically it is rural communities that this will be hit the hardest by these fees.
That’s why Labor will invest $100m to help make TAFE affordable and accessible for everyone, by winding back the privatisation of TAFE and stopping the course cuts and fee hikes.
We need a strong TAFE system and Labor will start by abolishing the Smart and Skilled “privatisation program, reverse funding cuts, and cap the amount of public funds that can be contestable by private operators at 30pc.
The Baird Liberal government has cut $1.7bn from vocational education and training, and sacked 1100 TAFE teachers across the state. It’s a shemozzle that has made many TAFE Colleges unviable and created a distorted market for private companies and corporations. Our local TAFE College is a victim of these cuts – lost expertise, fewer jobs and fewer training opportunities are the result.
Dr Ursula Stephens, (Labor candidate)