The Guardian 20 April, 2005
Nelson targets TAFE system
Janice Hamilton
More than one in ten Australians aged 15 and over enrol for vocational education and
training each year, including the more than 1.3 million students in the public TAFE
system.
The TAFE system is a well established means for young as well as older people to further their
education and work opportunities. It also provides second chances for many who, for various
reasons, could not complete their secondary education.
But the TAFE system is under threat.
Federal education minister Brendan Nelson is planning to force the TAFE sector to provide
profit-making opportunities for private operators in a package which was introduced to the
states last week.
Mirroring recent reforms to universities and schools, the new $4.9 million funding deal would
force the states to implement "competition policy" — by allowing private sector operators to
compete on an equal footing with public providers.
The agreements presented to the states by Dr Nelson tell the states that they have to give third
parties, including private operators, access to TAFE infrastructure.
"To improve utilisation of publicly funded infrastructure, institutions in receipt of Australian
government infrastructure funding will be required to provide third party access to their premises
including outside standard hours of work", Nelson's funding offer states.
TAFE will supposedly have to be more industry focused to address skills shortages.
State governments could face large financial penalties if they fail to fall into line with the federal
government's wishes, including ministerial discretion to withdraw funding altogether.
Other "reforms" include a demand that TAFE introduce performance-based pay for staff and the
widespread implementation of Australian Workplace Agreements (individual, non-union work
contracts). The government attempted to foist this on the university sector but it was strongly
resisted and knocked over by staff and university administrations.
A national fee structure would also apply whereby charges would be capped to "limit the extent
of any fee rises in publicly funded training institutions" over the course of the
agreement.
Funding agreements would be set for renewal every four years.
Under the training "reforms", to be enshrined into legislation, the states would be locked into
matching the commonwealth's funding dollar for dollar.
In a statement responding to the latest announcement the Australian Education Union (AEU)
called on the federal government to stop the attacks on the public TAFE system and attempts to
divert the attention away from its own failures.
"Despite repeated warnings from industry and unions, the Howard government is responsible
for the current skills crisis in the Australian economy. Since 1997, commonwealth funding for
TAFE has fallen by 10.6 per cent in real terms leaving a legacy to address skills shortages in
the traditional trades", said Pat Forward, the Federal TAFE Secretary of the AEU.
Instead, the commonwealth has placed its worker-bashing, privatising funding offer on the table
to the state governments, requiring them to stitch TAFE teachers into individual contracts
(AWAs) and performance pay in return for no additional commonwealth funds.