The people of NSW are right to be sceptical about the Government’s TAFE announcement.
The NSW Liberals and Nationals’ TAFE announcement will be eclipsed by its legacy of staff cuts, plummeting enrolments and campus fire sale.
Since the NSW Liberals and Nationals came to government over a decade ago, one third of TAFE teaching staff – or 4,500 – have been axed.
And it’s Western Sydney and the regions that have been hit hardest by the Government’s TAFE staff cuts:
- 47 per cent fewer staff across Western Sydney;
- 42 per cent fewer staff across South West Sydney;
- 31 per cent fewer staff at Hunter and Central Coast campuses; and
- 34 per cent less across the Illawarra and South Coast; 42% less across South West Sydney.
The NSW Liberals and Nationals have also sold off 14 TAFE campuses since 2012, including Seaforth, Nelson Bay Annexe, Crows Nest, NAS East Sydney Annexe and campus, Petersham, Katoomba, Granville, Bombala, Goulburn, Tuncurry, Epping, Scone, Mudgee, Dapto, and Grenfell has been approved for sale.
Meanwhile, TAFE enrolments have plummeted by more than 110,000 students, over the past decade the NSW Liberals and Nationals have been in government, including almost 40,000 in apprentices and traineeships.
Over the past decade, the number of apprentices and traineeships commencing each year plunged from 95,200 to 62,800. And the number of traineeships and apprenticeships completed tumbled from 52,700 to 22,500.
Tim Crakanthorp, NSW Shadow Minister for Skills & TAFE, said:
“We will wait to see the details of the Government’s TAFE announcement.
“But the reality is, the NSW Liberals and Nationals give with one hand but have taken away with another.
“The NSW Liberals and Nationals’ TAFE cuts have hurt Western Sydney and the regions the hardest.
“This government has spent the last decade taking a sledgehammer to vocational and education training in this state, and now, with an election around the corner, they are looking to play catch up.”
TIM CRAKANTHORP MP
NSW SHADOW MINISTER FOR SKILLS & TAFE
