Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today, as we have heard, is National TAFE Day. I want to take a moment to recognise all of the hardworking teachers who work in our TAFE sector. These are proud AEU members—that is right, they are members of a union—and they have worked really hard for many decades to ensure that our young people or people looking to upskill, to transfer careers, get the quality education that they need. It has been hard for a lot of people who have worked in TAFE over the last couple of years. There have been some massive cuts and attacks on people working in TAFE. Today I want to acknowledge that, despite the challenges, these good people, these great teachers, are still committed to TAFE and they are still going to work every day to ensure that people have the opportunity to get a vocational education.

In my state of Victoria the attacks by the former Liberal-National government have been savage. They have completely smashed TAFE in the state of Victoria, particularly in regional areas. We have seen in areas like my own electorate of Bendigo campuses close and courses disappear—fundamental courses that you would think would never disappear such as cabinet making, construction and bricklaying, and automotive courses. Do you know why? Because the former government changed the funding formula and said that courses need to turn a profit; they need to have at least 30 people in the classroom before the course can be run. That argument, like the current argument, was that they needed to be put to the market and they needed to turn a profit. In some parts of regional Australia they simply do not have that many students. The changes that have occurred in our TAFE sector have disproportionately affected people in regional areas. They have meant that those young people needing skills have to travel further. An example from my electorate concerns apprentices who work at Barker Trailers. They have to travel an hour and a half to get to their course at TAFE—an hour and a half because their campus closed. The boss and the company have done the right thing—they hire a bus to drive their apprentices across the country so that they can get the TAFE experience they need for their leadership.

This government's attacks on the VET sector have compounded the problems that we have in our state-based TAFE sector. There are cuts to the VET program, there are cuts to Tools for Your Trade, there are cuts to apprenticeships, there are cuts to skills—this is not regulation; this is purely a matter of funding. This government has cut from the VET sector, making it almost impossible for young people to get the skills they need for the jobs of the future. This MPI is important because not only do the government have to put money back into TAFE and money back into VET and money back into the regions to ensure that we are skilling up young people for the jobs that exist today but also they are denying the opportunity for businesses to work with a functioning VET sector to develop the jobs of the future.

I still have a very strong manufacturing area in my region, and when I meet with the Bendigo Manufacturing Group and ask the simple question, 'What do you most need from the federal government?', they say 'Support with recruiting young people.' They need young people with the skills that they need for future careers and for the jobs for today. One job I am talking about is pattern making. The old school pattern maker might have used a pencil and paper. Todays pattern maker uses a computer—they use coding and programs. They are looking for the TAFE courses where they can train a young person to do a practical, skilled job on a computer. The employer is now looking to bring people over here on 457 visas because there just are not the people trained locally. The reason is not because we do not have any young people who want to go into these jobs but because the TAFEs do not have the courses and this government has failed to invest to help the VET sector run these courses.

Another example in my electorate is Jimmy Possum, a boutique furniture maker. They have a high number of adult apprentices as well as new apprentices. This government's cuts to the adult apprenticeship program mean that they cannot cross-skill. This government does not understand what we need to do to help create the jobs for the future because it is not investing in the first steps to skill up the work force and to provide the skills for the jobs of the future.

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