The Victorian Greens are calling for increased investment in TAFE following new research showing Victorian TAFE teachers are working an average of seven unpaid hours every week.
Research by Per Capita, commissioned by the Australian Education Union, found Victoria has the lowest expenditure per hour of TAFE education delivered in the country, at $19.44 an hour compared with a national average of $21.36.
The report estimates unpaid work by TAFE teachers amounts to as much as $108.7 million a year across the workforce, while almost 60 per cent of teachers surveyed had considered leaving TAFE.
The Greens say increased demand generated by Free TAFE needs to be matched by funding for the educators, teaching hours and resources required to deliver it.
As stated by Victorian Greens spokesperson for Free University & TAFE, Aiv Puglielli MP:
“It’s embarrassing that Victoria is consistently ranking dead last when it comes to funding our TAFEs, while teachers are being forced to work almost an extra day every week unpaid just to keep the system going. TAFE teachers and support staff shouldn’t have to work almost an extra day every week for free just to keep our public TAFE system running.
“Labor loves to bang on about Free TAFE, but then won’t support the teachers and support staff to deliver it, stretching them to breaking point and leaving them working unpaid hours. Victorians deserve to be able to get the skills and qualifications they need for free, and the proper funding to go with it.
“If we’re serious about training the nurses, tradies, early educators and renewable energy workforce Victoria desperately needs, then we need to properly fund the educators doing the work. Only the Greens are calling for more funding so that we can expand free TAFE and match it with the teachers, teaching hours and improved class sizes needed to deliver it.”
