In addition to $400 million to support an additional 300,000 fee-free TAFE and vocational education and training (VET) seats, the Albanese government is prepared to contribute an additional $3.7 billion for a five-year National Skills Agreement (NSA) will be negotiated with states and territories.
This investment demonstrates the Albanese Government’s dedication to collaborating with the states and territories to ensure that Australia’s VET sector, with TAFE at its core, offers high-quality, flexible, and accessible education and training, preparing Australians for well-paying, secure employment, and addressing skill gaps for employers.
This will bring the total Commonwealth investment in state and territory training systems to $12.8 billion over five years, pending successful negotiation of the NSA.
After a decade of conflict, our government is pursuing a collaborative strategy with the states and territories and urging them to take part in national stewardship to address the five-year NSA starting in January 2024. This NSA will address the agreed-upon national priorities and VET reform areas.
Funds will be made available, subject to successful agreements, in accordance with the vision and guiding principles decided at the National Cabinet prior to the Jobs and Skills Summit to support significant reform areas, such as:
Efforts are being coordinated to guarantee that Australian individuals who lack language, literacy, numeracy, and digital skills can acquire the skills they need to find employment, advance in their careers, and successfully complete a course of vocational education or an apprenticeship. Three million Australians are thought to be affected by a lack of foundational skills.
300,000 fee-based TAFE courses are available in crucial fields like care and support (for the elderly, people with disabilities, veterans, and young children and educators), clean economy, manufacturing, and sovereign capability (including the defence industries), as well as in industries like construction, agriculture, hospitality, tourism, cybersecurity, and technology.
Closing the Gap for First Nations Students and Apprentices entails tight collaboration with First Nations people, their communities, and training organizations in order to facilitate skill development that benefits them and supports their career options.
Women’s participation and gender equality – a concerted effort to assist women in enrolling in and successfully completing VET courses and apprenticeships, with a focus on gaining access to skills in better-paying sectors, particularly trades that have historically been dominated by males. Men will be urged to join and learn skills in industries like care, where women have traditionally outnumbered men.
Completion rates and support for students facing obstacles: A coordinated national effort is being made to increase completion rates and enhance outcomes for VET students and apprentices, with a particular focus on students who have historically been underrepresented in the workforce, such as those with disabilities.
Centres of Excellence: TAFE Centers of Excellence work in collaboration with businesses, academic institutions, and governments to address pressing economic issues such as the shift to a clean economy, manufacturing, national security, and care and support.
TAFE’s core mission is to encourage collaborative leadership networks and high-quality vocational education and training, curriculum development, research, and innovation.
A VET Workforce Blueprint, which will be created in collaboration with the industry, will improve the sector and promote a high-quality VET workforce that imparts current, industry-relevant curriculum.
With the delivery of a 12-month agreement that has produced 180,000 fee-free TAFE and vocational education training spaces this year, the Albanese Government’s partnership approach has already achieved progress.
Australia is experiencing a severe shortage of skills, with the number of occupations affected nearly doubling from 153 in 2021 to 286 in 2022. Furthermore, jobs where VET is the primary pathway account for 60% of the growth in overall employment.
To produce our future workforce and give hundreds of thousands of Australians access to top-notch training, it is critical that the Commonwealth, State, and Territory governments collaborate to build a higher quality, more dynamic, and more resilient VET system.
All governments have agreed to collaborate in order to negotiate the NSA, which is expected to be in place by the first of January 2024.
