Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Gilmore knows that a strong VET sector is critical to Australians getting secure and well-paid work and for businesses in her area and all of our areas getting the skills they need. Yesterday was National TAFE Day. Together with educators from right around the country on this side of the House, we celebrated the group of people who make so much possible for so many—Australia's TAFE teachers. Our teachers, in a real sense, are our TAFEs. Their passion, their leadership and their hard work is helping Australians get high-quality skills for today's workforce and for tomorrow too. TAFE changes lives and plays a vital role in giving people skills they need for secure and well-paid jobs. It's where so many of our nurses, early childhood educators and tradies begin their careers.

After years of being systematically run down by those opposite, the Albanese government is committed to realising the potential of TAFE for the benefit of every Australian. With fee-free TAFE, we've now helped more than 500,000 Australians secure their place. That's half a million people learning in-demand skills to work in construction, housing, aged care and cybersecurity, easing cost-of-living pressures while helping businesses get the skilled workers they need. Last week the National Centre for Vocational Education Research released its latest report, and that revealed a substantial increase in the number of students undertaking VET last year—more than five million students taking part in some form of nationally recognised training, up by more than 10 per cent. The data also shows that more students are studying VET qualifications, with numbers increasing by 6.7 per cent to 2.1 million last year from the year before that. This is growth principally driven by domestic government funded students, including fee-free TAFE. The most popular qualifications included early childhood education and care, and that's not surprising because, together with fee-free TAFE, there has never been a better time to be an early childhood educator. We're making studying more affordable for future educators, and, by backing a 15 per cent pay rise, we are making sure, when they graduate, they'll be paid fairly for this important work.

But, while we're investing in Australians and helping students with the cost of living, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition describes fee-free TAFE as 'wasteful'. She is wrong because there is nothing wasteful about training our future care workers and tradies.

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