Skills Reform: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the latest news?

On Tuesday 26 August 2008, the Premier John Brumby and TAFE Minister Jacinta Allan announced the most significant changes to TAFE in a decade – these changes have the potential to seriously damage our public TAFE system.

A week before, on Wednesday 20 August 2008, over 3000 TAFE teachers and general staff marched to Parliament House as part of the AEU protest over TAFE collective bargaining. The AEU organised the rally, with the support of the NTEU, because collective bargaining for better pay and conditions had stalled.

Since this website was launched over 2000 people have sent an email to the Premier, the TAFE Minister and their local MP expressing their support for our public TAFEs.

What was in the recent announcement?

As we feared, the Victorian Government has decided to introduce damaging changes to our public TAFEs. The NTEU is concerned about the following aspects of the changes:

  • Up to tripling of student fees for higher level qualifications over three years, which may decrease demand
  • Introduction of a voucher system to determine funding (called a “training guarantee”)
  • No direct increase in student contact hour rate of funding for TAFEs
  • Quality and standards of teaching and services in private sector
  • Job security for public TAFE staff in the event of demand decrease
  • Diversion of public funds to private training providers that currently provide training with no government subsidy

The NTEU does support limited aspects of the changes:

  • Increased funding for Adult and Community Education sector
  • Removal of cap on funded places
  • Skills for Growth programme
  • Fee reductions for lower level programs

What was the skills reform discussion paper?

The skills reform discussion paper – called “Securing our future economic prosperity: discussion paper on skills reform” – outlined the broad direction that the state government wanted to go.

Many organisations made submissions to the discussion paper, which closed in late June 2008. None of the submission are publicly available, however, some organisations have made theirs public.

As a result of the NTEU community campaign, with over 2000 Victorians involved, the government reduced some of the worst elements of their proposals – although there are still serious issues.

What is contestability, and what are the vouchers?

The government wants to make public and private TAFE providers to compete for public funds. Their announcement has limited the competition to the “higher” qualifications – diplomas and advanced diplomas.

Currently public funding goes towards public TAFEs. Victoria’s public TAFEs are the most efficient and effective in Australia. TAFE costs for students are the lowest in Australia and public TAFE staff are professional and qualified.

At the moment the private providers are not funded for program delivery and must offer courses and training based on the quality of their product.

From June 2009, public funds will be diverted from public TAFEs to private training providers. Public funding will be attached to a voucher system called a “training guarantee”, which is an amount of public funding that the government will give to whatever provider, public or private, that the student chooses to attend.

Although the government has announced that there will be quality requirements for private operators before they are eligible to get public funds, there are still questions about quality of teaching as well as students services and support with private providers. Private operators will run on a for-profit basis. They will predominately offer cheap-to-run courses that have the highest profit margin and leave the expensive-to-run courses to the public sector.

Public funding will go towards private profits rather than public interest, and our public TAFEs will suffer.

How does contestability help solve the skills shortage?

In short, it does not. It would be better for the public TAFEs to identify areas of skills shortages and work with industry to address those areas of shortage, and to direct much needed funds to those areas, rather than to profit-driven private operators.

This is not a planned approach and instead reflects a free-for-all. The NTEU supports the Skills Australia model that includes unions, industry, educational professionals and TAFE directors taking a planned approach. Unfortunately the Victorian government is bypassing this approach.

How many employees work in TAFE?

There are approximately 7000 employees in TAFE, including general administrative staff and teachers. The NTEU represents all general administrative staff, which make up approximately 40% of the sector.

What are cross-sectoral institutions?

Cross-sectoral intuitions are universities that offer TAFE courses, and are distinct from the “stand alone” TAFEs. They include:

  • University of Ballarat
  • Swinburne University
  • RMIT and
  • Victoria University

Because the NTEU bargains for both university and TAFE staff at these cross-sectoral institutions, general and administrative staff enjoy better conditions than their colleagues at stand alone TAFEs. For example, general staff at cross-sectorals have won 17% superannuation, whereas stand alone TAFE staff get 9% superannuation.

What do TAFE institutions think?

None of the submissions to the government’s skills reform paper are publicly available.

However, we know that several TAFE institutions have indicated privately that they do not support the government’s plans. Some have even expressed concerns about jobs losses for certain courses they run.

What do the cross-sectorals think?

Again, no submissions have been released to the public. However, most cross-sectorals have approached the government’s proposals cautiously.

What do other unions think?

There are several unions that have a great deal of interaction with the training and skills sector. Unions such as the AMWU and peak bodies like the Victorian Trades Hall Council are opposed to the government’s current plans.

The Australian Education Union is also opposed to the changes and is running a campaign as well. Check here.

What do other stakeholders think?

Of the few submissions to the skills discussion paper, only a few are publicly available. Most of the public submissions are critical of some or all of the government’s proposed changes to TAFE funding.