Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On National TAFE Day, I would like to highlight the excellent work of TAFE at Tonsley in my electorate of Boothby. The campus is always buzzing with students developing skills to get better paid, secure jobs and developing the skills Australia needs for our future. We all know about the critical skills shortage left by the previous government. Businesses in my electorate tell me about it all the time. Fee-free TAFE is one of our most popular strategies to address that skills shortage.

My friends at Tonsley TAFE tell me the demand for fee-free TAFE has exceeded even their expectations. The national target of 180,000 enrolments was well exceeded, with almost 215,000 Australians enrolling in a fee-free course. Tonsley TAFE has seen strong responses from priority groups, including previously unemployed people and those aged 17 to 24. Approximately 60 per cent of them are women. These are all students gaining qualifications who would otherwise have been unable to do so.

The most popular areas of study include information technology, cybersecurity and programming, early childhood education and care, and health administration. These are all areas where we in Australia need more skilled workers. On National TAFE Day, I want to give a shout out to my friends at Tonsley, and I want to celebrate the achievements of TAFE students, teachers, trainers and support staff and recognise the contributions they make to Australia's future.