Labor’s $320 million TAFE Rescue Fund has already started flowing to TAFEs in need, as thousands of Victorians prepare to make one of the biggest decisions of their young lives.
Premier Daniel Andrews joined Minister for Training and Skills, Steve Herbert, at Swinburne Hawthorn today to reassure our latest VCE graduates that the TAFE system has a strong future and that students have a real choice.
In keeping with the Government’s election commitment, the Premier announced that the Treasurer has approved an advance of the first $20 million of the TAFE Rescue Fund, to appear in the Budget Update next week.
Labor’s TAFE Rescue Fund will save campuses across the state. It’s the first step to repair the damage of the previous Liberal Government’s cuts and closures and get our TAFE institutes back in the black.
The visit to Swinburne Hawthorn coincides with a ‘Change of Preference Expo’ at the campus – a major event where students receive one-on-one advice about their study and career options.
The Premier used the opportunity to remind students that, with a strong TAFE sector, there are many paths to a great career including TAFE, university, apprenticeships and traineeships.
The cut off for change of preferences is next Monday, 22 December. Victoria’s 47,000 VCE graduates and 13,000 VCAL certificate holders should consider the rewarding, skilled careers that a TAFE course can provide.
Swinburne was one of the institutes hardest hit by the TAFE cuts. The Andrews Labor Government has previously announced $10 million in funding to reopen and refurbish the Lilydale TAFE campus.
As at 2014, 100,372 students are in government-subsidised training at TAFE. The figure is down 18 per cent from the same time last year. Labor’s TAFE Rescue Fund will increase the number of students in our TAFE system.
Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“I said our TAFE Rescue Fund would start flowing straight away and it has. The future of our TAFE system is too important for this to wait.”
“We’re saving TAFE and making Victoria the Education State. Our kids deserve a real choice about their future and the best chance of getting a job.”
Quotes attributable to Steve Herbert, Minister for Training and Skills
“Victoria has some of the best universities in the country, but the Liberal TAFE cuts made it so much harder for students to find the hands-on courses they wanted.”
“More skills and more choices mean more jobs for our kids – that’s why we’re getting to work and saving TAFE straight away.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020