AEU welcomes Labor’s TAFE funding guarantee

The Australian Education Union (AEU) welcomes Labor’s commitment to guarantee at least 70% of all public funding for vocational education to TAFE.

AEU Federal President Correna Haythorpe said that Labor’s commitment acknowledged TAFE’s crucial role in helping Australia address its persistently high youth unemployment rate and its national skills gap.

“Labor’s commitment to guarantee at least 70% of all public funding for vocational education to TAFE, if it wins government at the next election, acknowledges TAFE’s central role in addressing systemic inequality, the critical skills crisis and persistent high youth unemployment in Australia,” Ms Haythorpe said.

“With a national skills gap and 200,000 fewer apprentices than when the Federal Coalition came to government, TAFE is more important than ever. This is underlined by yesterday’s NCVER figures, which show total apprentice and trainee commencements decreasing by 23.0% compared to the same time last year.”

“TAFE has always been fundamentally important as Australia’s public provider of vocational education, and it must be the primary choice of government to help rebuild the economy and provide people with the skills needed for their future.”

“The AEU calls on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to guarantee at least 70 per cent of total government funding to TAFE, to provide social and economic opportunities for our nation post-COVID,” Ms Haythorpe said.

“Generations of Australians have successfully gained high-quality qualifications through TAFE,” Ms Haythorpe said. “TAFE is trusted by the community, as demonstrated by a 2020 national survey in which 94% of Australians said they wanted to see more federal funding for TAFE.”

“TAFE has changed the lives of millions of Australians by offering a clear pathway from school to work,” Ms Haythorpe said. “Today, it stands ready to help millions more young people and older workers seeking to retrain, reskill and rebuild with TAFE by offering an unmatched range of nationally accredited qualifications and experienced teachers. However TAFE must be supported to do so by government.”

“We will engage in campaign actions in the lead up to the next federal election to ensure that TAFE is at the centre of funding and policy commitments for the next federal government of Australia. It’s time to #RebuildwithTAFE,” Ms Haythorpe said

MEDIA CONTACT: NICK BUCHAN, 0418 288 104