❓ The Minister for Training and Workforce Development responds positively to questions about the success of fee-free TAFE courses, highlighting increased enrolments, particularly among women, and the program's impact on critical sectors and individual lives.
AnsweredQoN 253Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TAFE — FEE-FREE COURSES
253. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's significant reforms
to deliver affordable training opportunities at TAFE.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how Western Australians are embracing fee-free and
low-cost TAFE courses?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how cheaper TAFE courses are supporting critical
workforces in sectors including construction, health care and education?
253. MR S.J. PRICE to the Minister for Training and
Workforce Development:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's significant reforms
to deliver affordable training opportunities at TAFE.
(1) Can the
minister advise the house how Western Australians are embracing fee-free and
low-cost TAFE courses?
(2) Can the
minister advise the house how cheaper TAFE courses are supporting critical
workforces in sectors including construction, health care and education?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for the question, and it may
not surprise the house to hear that I am very happy to answer it because
I see every day in my job as Minister for Training and Workforce Development
that vocational training and TAFE change lives. This government is making a huge
investment in our state's future with our record investment and
attention to vocational training, including our TAFE system. When we came to
government, the training sector was a mess, with skyrocketing fees and, at the
same time, plummeting enrolments. That is what the previous government left us.
We quickly went about fixing the mess left by the Liberal–National
government, and the vocational training system and TAFE are the better for it.
First of all, we froze TAFE fees
and put cost certainty into the sector, sending a very clear message to
students. Then, after a few years of budget repair, we slashed fees by up to 72
per cent and capped course fees at $400 for people under 25 years of age across
210 priority industry courses. Last year, of course, we partnered with the
Albanese government to offer fee-free courses. There were 130
full-qualification or short courses and, of
course, that has been a raging success. In 2023, there were nearly 40 000
enrolments —39 500 enrolments—in fee-free courses. Of
course, as we know, there will be more in 2024. There have been more of those
fee-free courses, both full-qualification and short courses. Although we are
just over one-third of the way through the year, in mid-April, we have 23 500
enrolments in fee-free courses. It is remarkable. Pleasingly, these are in the
high-priority areas of early childhood education and care, aged and disability
care, nursing and IT.
I
also want to make the comment that we have offered fee-free courses for
vocational lecturers—it is a key pinch point for us—to
make sure that we have the people with the right technical skills but who are
also able to teach in vocational training. We have had over 1 000 enrolments in
the qualification course for vocational lecturers since offering fee-free
courses, so that is fantastic.
I also have an important
acknowledgement that 70 per cent of enrolments in full-qualification courses
have been women. We are changing lives. These are women who work part-time and
want to improve their skills and get back into the workforce, but also young
people, and I will talk a bit about that now. One of the innovations of the
previous minister for training, Hon Sue Ellery, was the job ready program. This
involves short, sharp six-week courses that have a formal course component but
also an on-the-job component. I was so pleased to go along and see the
graduation of our group of participants under the digital workplace job ready
program. These provide digital or administrative skills for Aboriginal
participants at North Metropolitan TAFE in Aberdeen Street. In this case, it
was a group of women. I met Candice there. She is 20 years old. I see a great
future for Candice. She said that she had applied for a number of traineeships
and just was not able to get a start. As a result of this job ready program,
she not only got through the program, but
also picked up work with a government department. That is the d ifference
that this makes.
I want to give a shout-out to the
employers that are participating in that program—I met a number of them—including
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which has taken in two cohorts of trainees
under the program and has employed six Aboriginal women as a result of their
participation in this course. It has taken them on in employment. As I said,
our investment in vocational training is changing lives.
I just want to comment on the
confected outrage by the Leader of the Opposition on our track record and
investment in regional development. As the Minister for Regional Development
and the Deputy Premier pointed out very clearly, as a whole cabinet, as a whole
government, we take our responsibilities and obligations to regional WA very
seriously. There is no better example of that than the investment we are making in TAFEs. There is a quarter of a billion
dollars invested in upgrading TAFE facilities—15 projects across
the state, nine of them are in regional WA. We have already opened improvements
to facilities at Geraldton. Just a couple of weeks ago we opened a $10 million
upgrade to the heavy plant workshop in Kalgoorlie. It is fantastic. In Broome
there was a hospitality and personal services upgrade. They are world-class facilities, and I look forward to the
Pilbara upgrades in Port Hedland and also in Albany, where work is being
done. It is really very exciting. I am so proud to be the Minister for Training
and Workforce Development. Those opposite might want to think about practical
differences that they could make should they ever—God forbid—get
into government in the future. They could make differences to people's
lives if they invested in vocational
training and put some real thought and attention to what regional development could look like.
not surprise the house to hear that I am very happy to answer it because
I see every day in my job as Minister for Training and Workforce Development
that vocational training and TAFE change lives. This government is making a huge
investment in our state's future with our record investment and
attention to vocational training, including our TAFE system. When we came to
government, the training sector was a mess, with skyrocketing fees and, at the
same time, plummeting enrolments. That is what the previous government left us.
We quickly went about fixing the mess left by the Liberal–National
government, and the vocational training system and TAFE are the better for it.
First of all, we froze TAFE fees
and put cost certainty into the sector, sending a very clear message to
students. Then, after a few years of budget repair, we slashed fees by up to 72
per cent and capped course fees at $400 for people under 25 years of age across
210 priority industry courses. Last year, of course, we partnered with the
Albanese government to offer fee-free courses. There were 130
full-qualification or short courses and, of
course, that has been a raging success. In 2023, there were nearly 40 000
enrolments —39 500 enrolments—in fee-free courses. Of
course, as we know, there will be more in 2024. There have been more of those
fee-free courses, both full-qualification and short courses. Although we are
just over one-third of the way through the year, in mid-April, we have 23 500
enrolments in fee-free courses. It is remarkable. Pleasingly, these are in the
high-priority areas of early childhood education and care, aged and disability
care, nursing and IT.
I
also want to make the comment that we have offered fee-free courses for
vocational lecturers—it is a key pinch point for us—to
make sure that we have the people with the right technical skills but who are
also able to teach in vocational training. We have had over 1 000 enrolments in
the qualification course for vocational lecturers since offering fee-free
courses, so that is fantastic.
I also have an important
acknowledgement that 70 per cent of enrolments in full-qualification courses
have been women. We are changing lives. These are women who work part-time and
want to improve their skills and get back into the workforce, but also young
people, and I will talk a bit about that now. One of the innovations of the
previous minister for training, Hon Sue Ellery, was the job ready program. This
involves short, sharp six-week courses that have a formal course component but
also an on-the-job component. I was so pleased to go along and see the
graduation of our group of participants under the digital workplace job ready
program. These provide digital or administrative skills for Aboriginal
participants at North Metropolitan TAFE in Aberdeen Street. In this case, it
was a group of women. I met Candice there. She is 20 years old. I see a great
future for Candice. She said that she had applied for a number of traineeships
and just was not able to get a start. As a result of this job ready program,
she not only got through the program, but
also picked up work with a government department. That is the d ifference
that this makes.
I want to give a shout-out to the
employers that are participating in that program—I met a number of them—including
the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which has taken in two cohorts of trainees
under the program and has employed six Aboriginal women as a result of their
participation in this course. It has taken them on in employment. As I said,
our investment in vocational training is changing lives.
I just want to comment on the
confected outrage by the Leader of the Opposition on our track record and
investment in regional development. As the Minister for Regional Development
and the Deputy Premier pointed out very clearly, as a whole cabinet, as a whole
government, we take our responsibilities and obligations to regional WA very
seriously. There is no better example of that than the investment we are making in TAFEs. There is a quarter of a billion
dollars invested in upgrading TAFE facilities—15 projects across
the state, nine of them are in regional WA. We have already opened improvements
to facilities at Geraldton. Just a couple of weeks ago we opened a $10 million
upgrade to the heavy plant workshop in Kalgoorlie. It is fantastic. In Broome
there was a hospitality and personal services upgrade. They are world-class facilities, and I look forward to the
Pilbara upgrades in Port Hedland and also in Albany, where work is being
done. It is really very exciting. I am so proud to be the Minister for Training
and Workforce Development. Those opposite might want to think about practical
differences that they could make should they ever—God forbid—get
into government in the future. They could make differences to people's
lives if they invested in vocational
training and put some real thought and attention to what regional development could look like.
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