❓ The Premier responds to a question about the government's commitment to a skilled workforce through TAFE, highlighting fee-free courses, enrolment growth, and a new awareness campaign, while criticising the previous Liberal government's record on TAFE.
AnsweredQoN 487Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Job creation—Fee-free TAFE courses
487. Ms Jodie Hanns to
the Premier:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to securing a skilled workforce to ensure that
Western Australia remains the strongest economy in the nation.
Can the Premier
advise the house how this government is delivering on that commitment by
strengthening our TAFE system?
487. Ms Jodie Hanns to
the Premier:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to securing a skilled workforce to ensure that
Western Australia remains the strongest economy in the nation.
Can the Premier
advise the house how this government is delivering on that commitment by
strengthening our TAFE system?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question.
Not only is WA the
best state in Australia and has the strongest economy in the country, but it
also happens to be the best state in the country to learn a new skill. The
member for Collie–Preston is very aware of the importance of skills in
a transitioning economy. Of all the states in the nation, WA is leading the way
when it comes to enrolment growth in vocational education and training.
Students are voting with their feet because our TAFE system is first class. In
many cases, it is free of charge. Right now in WA, our priorities are jobs,
housing and health. TAFE is part of the solution to each of those priorities
because we are building a workforce that is prepared for the skills and the
jobs we need now and into the future.
Last year, there
were 164,000 publicly funded enrolments. There were more than 100,000 fee-free
and low-fee courses collectively saving students millions of dollars a year.
Let us have a look at that. A Certificate IV in Building and Construction
student saved $4,000. A Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care student saved
$6,800. A Diploma of Nursing student saved $10,000. Together, these have
funnelled thousands of freshly skilled students into sectors that need them
most. However, we know that we can do even more. We know that our nation-leading
TAFE sector can be even better. That is why, yesterday, we launched the new "You
Can Make It Here" campaign. This awareness campaign will highlight the
importance of fee-free and low-fee TAFE courses in WA's future. It will run
across TV, newspapers, radio and social media, and will coincide with the end
of the school year, when many young people are considering study options for
2026. One of the best things about the campaign is that it was created by a
TAFE-trained director, Jhaz Bullen-Williams, and is largely a TAFE-trained
production crew. In other words, even the advertising campaign was made in WA. This
is a far cry from the TAFE system that we inherited back in 2017. Here is a
summary, a snapshot, of what we inherited: TAFE infrastructure investment was
cut, apprenticeship or traineeship numbers were cut and enrolments were cut.
The only thing that went up, of course, were course fees—hiked up by 500%
in some cases. Much of that decline occurred under the watchful eye of the then
Liberal Minister for Training and Workforce Development, Hon Liza Harvey. We
learned in recent days that Ms Harvey is now the author of the review into the
Liberal Party's 2025 election campaign.
Among her observations were that the Liberal Party
needs more women and more diverse candidates, it needs better candidate
vetting and it needs to have some actual plans and policies. Who would have
thought, Mr Speaker, that a political party should come up with plans and
policies if it is going to an election?
The question needs
to be asked: will members opposite listen? They certainly have not got any
plans or policies yet. In fact, that side of the chamber is a policy-free zone.
Thankfully, this government has a plan. We are offering fee-free and low-fee
TAFE courses. We are creating a skilled workforce, and we are channelling these
workers into the government priorities of jobs, health and housing to create
the expertise and workforce for a diversified economy.
for the question.
Not only is WA the
best state in Australia and has the strongest economy in the country, but it
also happens to be the best state in the country to learn a new skill. The
member for Collie–Preston is very aware of the importance of skills in
a transitioning economy. Of all the states in the nation, WA is leading the way
when it comes to enrolment growth in vocational education and training.
Students are voting with their feet because our TAFE system is first class. In
many cases, it is free of charge. Right now in WA, our priorities are jobs,
housing and health. TAFE is part of the solution to each of those priorities
because we are building a workforce that is prepared for the skills and the
jobs we need now and into the future.
Last year, there
were 164,000 publicly funded enrolments. There were more than 100,000 fee-free
and low-fee courses collectively saving students millions of dollars a year.
Let us have a look at that. A Certificate IV in Building and Construction
student saved $4,000. A Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care student saved
$6,800. A Diploma of Nursing student saved $10,000. Together, these have
funnelled thousands of freshly skilled students into sectors that need them
most. However, we know that we can do even more. We know that our nation-leading
TAFE sector can be even better. That is why, yesterday, we launched the new "You
Can Make It Here" campaign. This awareness campaign will highlight the
importance of fee-free and low-fee TAFE courses in WA's future. It will run
across TV, newspapers, radio and social media, and will coincide with the end
of the school year, when many young people are considering study options for
2026. One of the best things about the campaign is that it was created by a
TAFE-trained director, Jhaz Bullen-Williams, and is largely a TAFE-trained
production crew. In other words, even the advertising campaign was made in WA. This
is a far cry from the TAFE system that we inherited back in 2017. Here is a
summary, a snapshot, of what we inherited: TAFE infrastructure investment was
cut, apprenticeship or traineeship numbers were cut and enrolments were cut.
The only thing that went up, of course, were course fees—hiked up by 500%
in some cases. Much of that decline occurred under the watchful eye of the then
Liberal Minister for Training and Workforce Development, Hon Liza Harvey. We
learned in recent days that Ms Harvey is now the author of the review into the
Liberal Party's 2025 election campaign.
Among her observations were that the Liberal Party
needs more women and more diverse candidates, it needs better candidate
vetting and it needs to have some actual plans and policies. Who would have
thought, Mr Speaker, that a political party should come up with plans and
policies if it is going to an election?
The question needs
to be asked: will members opposite listen? They certainly have not got any
plans or policies yet. In fact, that side of the chamber is a policy-free zone.
Thankfully, this government has a plan. We are offering fee-free and low-fee
TAFE courses. We are creating a skilled workforce, and we are channelling these
workers into the government priorities of jobs, health and housing to create
the expertise and workforce for a diversified economy.
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