Labor Shadow
Minister for TAFE Josh Willie called on Minister for Skills and Training, Felix
Ellis, to commission the independent review of the TasTAFE Act that is required
by law.
The
review is now overdue and is supposed to be carried out six months after the
anniversary of the commencement of the TasTAFE (Skills and Training Business)
Act 2021 legislation.
According to
section 47 of Act the review is to be conducted by two or more people who in
the Minister’s opinion hold the appropriate qualifications and skills to
perform the review.
The lack of any
action on this independent review of the Act reflects a government that has
treated TasTAFE with contempt.
The Liberals
have turned TasTAFE upside down and created a terrible workplace culture.
Despite
providing $3.8 million last financial year for an additional 25 TasTAFE
teachers, the Liberals told state parliament that they’d employed just 12.
That’s 12 out
of a promised 100 new teachers over four years.
The Liberal
Government previously said TasTAFE would be better placed to attract high
quality, qualified trainers from industry to ramp up training in areas of high
demand.
Yet last year,
20 Tasmanian electrical apprentices had their training block cancelled due to a
lack of teaching staff, and a lack of staff has also led to client services
closing indefinitely at the Clarence campus.
TasTAFE is
supposed to be an industry and student-focused organisation but the Liberals’
misguided and disruptive changes are leading to a breakdown in service delivery.
The shortage of skilled workers has been holding Tasmania back for years, with a direct impact on Tasmania’s economy, which is why Tasmanian Labor has been pushing for improvements to TasTAFE, including free courses.
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for TAFE
