National TAFE Day
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 129 No 8, 1 November 2024, page no. 19
Earlier this year, the Commonwealth and state and territory governments announced they would be making historic investments in TAFE under the National Skills agreement. The change in direction has been life-changing for the TAFE teaching profession and the many thousands of TAFE students.
However, for a sector that endured more than a decade of funding cuts under the previous Coalition federal government, many issues remain outstanding in relation to the workforce, capital infrastructure, and student learning needs.
National TAFE Day provided the opportunity for a national policy reset and for all governments to commit to rebuilding TAFE as Australia’s premier, trusted, and public vocational education provider.
It is paramount that in the lead up to the next federal election, the Albanese government commits to additional investment in the TAFE workforce, infrastructure, and teaching programs.
National TAFE Day was an opportunity to recognise the extraordinary dedication and skills of TAFE teachers across the nation, who are carrying the responsibility for delivering high-quality vocational education to their students, including those from diverse backgrounds and many who have complex needs. However, there are still significant concerns among TAFE teachers about workload, job security, and the level of support required by students on the Fee-Free TAFE program.
Governments need to support TAFE teachers with urgent investment to rebuild the TAFE teaching workforce and provide high quality and state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces for students. Additional resources are needed to ensure student outcomes are improved and the complex needs of an increasingly diverse student cohort can be met.
The Australian Education Union’s 2024 State of Our TAFE survey found that:
- two thirds of TAFE teachers are considering leaving the profession
- 55 per cent of those surveyed said that their TAFE institute had not allocated additional services to support students enrolling in Fee-Free TAFE
- 77 per cent of those surveyed said that workload has had a major impact on the recruitment and retention of TAFE teachers from industry, followed by pay (67 per cent) and employment conditions (59 per cent)
- the top three supports that would encourage TAFE teachers to remain in the sector were a reduced admin burden (67 per cent), improved pay (60 per cent) and better treatment from their employer (57 per cent).
On National TAFE Day, AEU members from across the country converged on Canberra to meet with politicians, discuss TAFE, and seek a commitment from them to fully fund TAFE.
You can join the campaign to ‘Rebuild with TAFE’ here: https://www.rebuildwithtafe.org.au/