Budget cuts hits TAFE – June 2017 (PDF version)
Despite having a $4 billion plus surplus, the NSW Government has once again jeopardised the future of NSW by attacking TAFE.
It seems that more than 500 jobs from TAFE have been cut as a result of the state budget. The budget papers were released yesterday and TAFE full-time equivalent (FTE) workers forecast for 2016-2017 is listed at 10,470. In the budget forecast for 2017-2018, that number drops by 501 to just 9,969 FTE TAFE workers.
The cuts have hit both TAFE teaching and support staff. This will mean more courses will be cut and potentially more deskilling of the emerging workforce.
The General Secretary Stewart Little stated that TAFE jobs underpin the future workforce of NSW.
“The Government is again attacking the capacity of TAFE to properly train our future workforce. This is an assault on generations to come and the NSW economy itself.
“Who is going to build all these roads to nowhere?”
You can read the your union’s media release HERE.
The current restructures in TAFE will impact across the whole state, regional communities will be massively affected particularly if courses are relocated and staff need to relocate with them.
The Commonwealth Government is allowing universities to directly offer sub-bachelor diploma courses. Universities are not subject to the same approval requirements that all other VET providers including TAFE are required to have. TAFE is not funded in the same way as universities by the Commonwealth Government. The CPSU/PSA will campaign to help protect TAFE and protect our member’s jobs
Your union is fighting for you, and for TAFE to be funded properly to train NSWs future workforce.
