TAFE - ENROLMENTS

HON ALISON XAMON (North Metropolitan) [ 5.34 pm ]: I rise tonight to make some comments about where we find ourselves with TAFE. One of advantages of having taken a sabbatical from this place is that I am in a position to assess, over a quite significant period, where some of the key projects I was undertaking were when I left this place and to pick them up now. Members may know, or if they do not they are about to, that my first qualification was a certificate IV from TAFE. I remain a strident supporter of the system. TAFE is very practical, and provides really relevant industry skills and a lot of life skills for thousands of Western Australians. It is a really important part of how we keep our community strong, and we need a strong, publicly funded TAFE system.

I have been looking at a lot of what I was saying even five years ago. I was looking at a speech I gave. At the time I was talking about the need to ensure that our TAFE colleges, like our public schools, receive sustainable funding. At the time I spoke about the courses that were rapidly disappearing from our state training system. I concluded my speech with —

We are heading entirely in the wrong direction and I am very concerned about the future of our publicly funded state training providers.

So it is really disappointing to be standing here five years on seeing the concerns that I raised, to a large extent, realised. We know that under the previous government courses were closed, and we also saw a dramatic reduction in enrolments. The statistics — because figures do not lie — are pretty serious. The previous government cut funding to the sector of $120 million over three years, and a further $50 million was forecast to be saved in efficiency dividends. According to the State School Teachers’ Union of WA, our TAFE system has experienced a 300 per cent increase in fees since 2013 — 300 per cent — with some TAFE course fees increasing by over 600 per cent since 2013. That has resulted in a 24.5 per cent drop in people going to TAFE between 2013 and 2016. It also included a drop of more than 30 000 enrolments into courses listed as genuine industry qualifications. We are talking about courses such as the certificate III in Auslan, which we spoke about today, business administration, pathology and acute care, and certificate IVs in disability, laboratory techniques, building and construction, and education support. These industries and jobs lay the foundation for a strong economy, but also for a caring and prosperous community.

Also of grave concern is that enrolments of students from minority groups have also dropped. Enrolments of Aboriginal students have dropped by over 10 per cent, and enrolments of students with disability have dropped by more than nine per cent. Enrolments for students over the age of 30 years have dropped by over 13 per cent. I was surprised to see that there is no public data available to provide a gender breakdown of TAFE enrolments by course; however, the available data demonstrates that enrolments by women in apprenticeships have dropped over 11 per cent since 2014, and enrolments by women in traineeships have dropped over 28 per cent since 2014. I know the current government has recognised that TAFE accessibility is an issue. The Greens most certainly recognised that and took a very strong position on it into the last state election. The government’s position has been to freeze TAFE fees at their current rate. That is good, but it is just not enough. Despite the fee freeze, as a result of the actions of the previous government, and because we simply have not seen swift enough movement from this government, TAFE, unfortunately, remains fragmented and absolutely unaffordable for too many people. The Greens are really strongly of the view that this government needs to stand up and, effectively, address the affordability issue right now.

We know that fee increases have put TAFE out of reach for many people. According to the data that has been given to me by the union, between 2013 and 2016, the cost of a diploma of graphic design increased from $2 545 to $6 727; a diploma of management increased from $621 to $3 530; a diploma of surveying increased from $1 751 to $6 317; a diploma of nursing increased from $1 862 to $9 361; and an advanced diploma of electrical engineering increased from $2 203 to $12 712. In addition to these unprecedented fee increases, I understand that serious concerns have been raised about the drop in course availability. Again, the government will need to be proactive in this space, because the system is not going to repair itself.

In response to my question without notice 276 of 22 June about the reinstatement of TAFE courses that had been closed under the Liberal government, the Minister for Education and Training said — this is a direct quote —

The delivery of TAFE courses is subject to viable class sizes based on student demand. TAFE colleges can reactivate courses as required in response to increases in demand.

I am concerned by that response.

TAFE courses are being cut, and mainstream courses are not being offered close to where students live. That is without even looking at the complete lack of availability of TAFE courses in regional Western Australia. A person who lives in Clarkson and wants to undertake an automotive course needs to travel all the way to Midland. According to Transperth, for students who rely on public transport, the journey time from Clarkson to Midland TAFE is between 81 and 93 minutes. People on low incomes are generally reliant on public transport. If courses are not offered close to where people live, they are not accessible to vulnerable populations, who often are the people who go to TAFE. In addition, TAFE has been undermined by the over-casualisation of its workforce. We need a TAFE system that will attract and retain quality TAFE lecturers.

In Western Australia there have been two years of massive job losses. That means that more and more people are in need of affordable, quality technical and further education. In this period post the mining boom, investment in training services is essential to address issues of disadvantage and unemployment. It is important that we do all we can to enable people to access TAFE and to encourage as many people as possible into meaningful employment. People who are unemployed should not find it too difficult, or unaffordable, to gain new skills within our public TAFE system.

We know that the few slow years we have had in Western Australia after the end of the mining construction boom will not last forever. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia forecast recently that business investment will stop falling next financial year and will grow by three per cent in 2018 – 19. It is projected that by 2025, WA will need an extra 60 000 TAFE-qualified workers. An annual seven per cent decrease in TAFE enrolments equates to a loss of over 10 000 successful graduates from the public TAFE system. We need to ensure that we do not replicate the mistakes that have been made over east by looking to the private sector to fill this gap. If the government does not take a long-term view and invest in TAFE now, this state will end up with another skills shortage.

The Greens are strongly of the view that a publicly owned and properly funded TAFE system has played, and continues to play, an essential role in ensuring that people are given lifelong educational opportunities and skills development to enable them to best avail themselves of employment. The current situation is simply not okay. We need to address the issue of prohibitive cost and reduction in accessibility as a matter of priority because our public TAFE system is too important not to do that.

 

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