FEDERAL member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters has launched a scathing attack on the Abbott-Turnbull government’s cuts to TAFE funding, saying it is costing young people in Bendigo jobs and apprenticeships.
Federal Labor has committed to guaranteeing federal funding for TAFE as part of their first policy announcement leading to next year’s election, which will include Bendigo Kangan Institute.
Ms Chesters labelled Bendigo Kangan Institute as being still in the rebuild phase following
“devastating” cuts.
“Cuts to TAFE are having an impact on apprenticeship numbers,” she said.
“This, combined with the (Coalition) government’s slashing of $1 billion from apprenticeship programs, has resulted in a massive fall in apprenticeship numbers.”
Figures released this week by the National Center for Vocational Education and Research show the number of apprenticeships in Australia has fallen by almost 100,000 under the Coalition government.
It also found the number of those completing apprenticeships dropped from 63,000 in June 2013 to 297,000 in June 2015.
Although Ms Chesters said the numbers could not be localised to the Bendigo area, she said stories from constituents had suggested the funding cuts had reduced the opportunities for young people in the region.
“We don’t quite know what that figure is here locally because that data is hard to drill down to a geographical region,” she said.
“Just anecdotally, lots and lots of young people (have said) they just don’t exist and they can’t find an apprenticeship.
“Partly it’s because of funding cuts at TAFE , but also because there’s been an economic downturn, businesses just aren’t taking on that next generation.
“There simply are neither the apprenticeships nor the TAFE course that were available locally a generation ago.”
Liberal Senator for Victoria Michael Ronaldson called on Ms Chesters to provide details about where the funding would come from.
“The federal government will provide $456.5m in 2015-16 to Victoria to help it run its training system, including its TAFEs,” he said.
“It is up to the state government to decide how much of this funding they want to put towards TAFE, including Kangan, and to explain their cuts to TAFE.
“If Ms Chesters was genuine she would indicate where this new money for Bendigo Kangan Institute is coming from – or is she just promising to make the decisions for the state government rather than let them run the TAFEs themselves.
“This year, the Australian government will invest $5.5 billion in vocational education and training around Australia including more than $200m to support apprentices and their employers.”
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