TasTAFE is
struggling to recruit teachers and provide courses, an issue the Liberal
Government promised to fix in the 2021-22 financial year.
A shortage of
skilled workers is holding our industries back and now workers cannot get the
training they need.
Gill Burns is
retired but wants to return to the workforce. He knows INCAT is looking for
welders and wants to retrain which requires him to enrol in an aluminium
welding course through TasTAFE.
When Mr Burns
enquired with TAFE, he was told they didn’t have a teacher to carry out the
course. TasTAFE staff were also unsure if a qualified teacher will be available
in time for the course to commence in February, as it is advertised to do so.
The Liberal
Government is failing to address the skills shortage holding our economy back
and help Tasmanians get the certification they need to work.
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.
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 fee free courses.
Josh Willie MLC
Shadow Minister for TAFE
