Move aims to guarantee Free TAFE

THE option gain a qualification, retrain or get a fresh start in a new field of in-demand work at a comparatively low cost looks likely to remain for Victorians with the State Government introducing a bill that aims to protect Free TAFE into the future.

More than 57,000 learners in regional Victoria have taken up the option to enrol in Free TAFE since it was introduced in 2019.

While some of the 80-plus courses that are offered may still have student or course material fees, the Free TAFE system means students don’t have to pay tuition fees which might otherwise be a deal-breaker for many hoping to pursue tertiary studies.

Minister for Skills and TAFE Gayle Tierney last week announced she was introducing a bill that would change the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 to ensure a ‘Free TAFE Guarantee’ is included in the act.

More than 225,300 students have benefitted from Free TAFE in Victoria in the past seven years, saving them more than $727 million in tuition fees or more than $3000 per student on average, the minister said.

She said TAFE is “key to Victoria’s economic success and addresses workforce shortages in areas that are important to Victorians, like construction, education, caring and clean energy”.

The State Government is aiming to highlight the fact that more than 67,200 Victorians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds have benefitted from Free TAFE since 2019, alongside the more than 57,000 learners in regional areas.

And 59 per cent of all students taking it up have been women.

At the last election, the Victorian ALP had pledged to enshrine a TAFE funding guarantee in legislation.

Ms Tierney said the new bill delivers on that promise, “ensuring 70 per cent of all government Vocational Education and Training funding will be allocated to TAFE”.

“This bill will ensure that future generations of Victorians can benefit from cost-of-living relief while preparing to join the pipeline of skilled workers we need to meet Victoria’s goals,” she said.