Rebuild with TAFE to boost skills, jobs, and the economy

17 February 2021

The AEU’s ‘Rebuild with TAFE’ campaign launched on the lawns of Parliament House today.

The campaign calls on governments to properly fund TAFE and employ it to assist with the economic re-build, re-skill and upskill workers, address the apprentice shortage, reduce youth unemployment and provide career pathways for all Australians.

As the public provider of vocational education, TAFE is best placed to address the many challenges Australia faces due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as long as it it is properly funded and supported.

However, the Federal Government has cut $3 billion in funding from vocational education since 2013 and pursued a relentless privatisation agenda, increasing the amount of low quality private training providers at great cost to TAFE.

Proper funding for TAFE will increase available courses and the number of campuses, and ensure high quality vocational education that will improve the lives of millions of Australians.

Many thousands of Australians are out of work at the same time Australia is experiencing a shortage of 200,000 apprentices. Rebuilding with TAFE will help unemployed workers to re-train, upskill or get an apprenticeship and gain meaningful employment.

Australians trust and support TAFE and know the system can help re-build our economy. We now need governments and politicians to show that same level of support by investing in TAFE to rebuild Australia socially and economically.

As we head to the next federal election, all political parties must commit to rebuilding with TAFE. The AEU will be campaigning to make sure they understand how important this issue is to our communities.”

The AEU’s ‘Rebuild with TAFE’ advertisement can be viewed here.