News

Education | April 19, 2016

Labor slashes funding for training at South West TAFE

Labor has slashed funding for student training at South West TAFE's Hamilton campus, despite promising before the elections to grow enrolments and 'rescue' TAFE.

South West TAFE's annual report, tabled in Parliament last week, reveals funding to subsidise student training was slashed from $14.3 million in 2014 to $10.4 million in 2015.

(Annual report p.61 Note 2: Income from Transactions 'State Government contributions -contestable funding'  http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/South_West_TAFE_Annual_Report_2015_94b1704v.pdf)

Funding to directly subsidise student training has declined by almost $4 million or 27.5 per cent.

Student contact hours have declined from 1,792,491 in 2014 to 1,323,738 in 2015. The Hamilton campus was particularly hard hit, with 27,000 fewer student contact hours delivered last year.

The report also reveals that while the number of full fee paying students increased last year, funding for government subsidised courses, including apprenticeships and traineeships, decreased.

Last year the 2014 training market data report was released in March. Daniel Andrews is yet to release the 2015 report which details the true extent of his cuts to training in south west Victoria.

Comments from Shadow Training, Skills and Apprenticeships Minister Steph Ryan:

"Daniel Andrews' promise to rescue TAFE was a cruel hoax.

"Under Labor South West TAFE has lost $3.9 million for training and there are now 442,000 fewer student contact hours being delivered across the region than when Daniel Andrews took office.

"Labor should release the training data detailing the full impact of these cuts on student enrolments at South West TAFE's Hamilton campus."

Comments from Member for Lowan Emma Kealy:

"Students in Hamilton deserve better than Daniel Andrews' savage cuts to TAFE.

"After promising to rescue TAFE, Labor has taken the axe to training in western Victoria. This makes it particularly hard for students to get the skills they need to get a job."