Blog archive
Lunchtime campus rallies continue around the state
TAFE4ALL is continuing to hold community rallies at campuses around the state against the Napthine Government's ongoing attacks on the public TAFE system. All rallies start at 12pm.
Upcoming events are listed below - click on the date to download a flyer.
Tuesday May 21: University of Ballarat, SMB campus, Lydiard Street
Wednesday May 22: South West TAFE Warrnambool, cnr Kepler and Timor Streets
Wednesday May 29: GippsTAFE, Yallourn campus, Monash Road, Newborough
We need your help and support for this next crucial stage of the union's TAFE4ALL campaign. Please tell your students, colleagues and any other supporters about the events.
THE AEU WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING A FREE BBQ at each rally.
more...
Bendigo rally against State Government attacks, May 8
TAFE4ALL will host a community rally on Wednesday in Bendigo against the Napthine Government's continued attacks on the public TAFE system.
The rally will be at the BRIT McCrae Street campus on Wednesday, May 8 from 12pm.
We need your help and support for this next crucial stage of the union's TAFE4ALL campaign. Please tell your students, colleagues and any other supporters about the event.
THE AEU WILL ALSO BE PROVIDING A FREE BBQ.
more...Rally against the TAFE cuts in Geelong, April 16
The TAFE4All campaign and the AEU Federal "Stop the TAFE Cuts" campaign will join forces this month to host our first rally for 2013 in Geelong.
The fight to save TAFE is far from over and we have a great deal of work to do to stop the Napthine-Ryan Coalition from continuing to undermine the Victorian TAFE system.
The Geelong community has been a strong supporter of our TAFE rallies, with thousands of people coming out to support the Gordon and the Victorian TAFE system in 2011 and 2012.
We need your help to spread the word again. The joint rally will be held outside the Gordon TAFE on Tuesday April 16 in Johnston Park, Fenwick Street, Geelong.
Please download and print the flyer and distribute it far and wide.
more...Help save TAFE - make your submission to Federal Inquiry
The Federal Government has announced an inquiry into TAFE and the Committee needs to hear from you - the people who are experiencing the impact of the TAFE funding cuts on the ground.
Submissions to the "Inquiry into the role of Technical and Further Education system and its operation" close on Thursday 18 April 2013.
That means there is less than three weeks to make your voice heard.
This Inquiry is the first of its type in decades, and given the savage cuts to TAFE in Victoria, this gives us a great national platform to stand up for TAFE.
Let the Federal Government know how course cancellations, student fee hikes, campus closures and job losses are affecting you, your TAFE institute and your local community. Then encourage your colleagues, family and friends to do the same.
Individuals and organisations can make their submissions from the Stop TAFE Cuts website. The site also offers advice on making an effective submission that meets the Terms of Reference.
The National TAFE Inquiry is our chance to argue for Australians' right to a world-class TAFE system. Please take the time to make your contribution and help save TAFE.
more...New national campaign to save TAFE
The AEU has launched a new national TAFE campaign website and Facebook page under the slogan "Stop TAFE Cuts".
Please register your support here today.
The timing of our new website couldn't be better, with a Federal Parliamentary Inquiry into the role of TAFE announced last Friday.
Stop TAFE Cuts provides a simple way for people to make a submission to the Inquiry, and to get involved in the national TAFE campaign.
more...AEU welcomes parliamentary inquiry into TAFE
The Australian Education Union has welcomed the announcement of a parliamentary inquiry into TAFE.
President Angelo Gavrielatos said the inquiry is a much-needed intervention by the Federal Parliament.
"TAFEs across Australia have suffered savage cuts over the past 12 months, right at the time when governments at all levels should be doing all they can to support Australians getting the qualifications they need,” he said.
more...We can't stop now in fight to save TAFE
TAFE4ALL supporters are to be congratulated for all the support and lobbying that they have been doing for our TAFE system.
The fact that the new Premier's first major announcement was a $200 million re-investment for TAFE is evidence that he recognises the damage that his Government's funding cuts have done to TAFE — and to the credibility and support for the Napthine-Ryan coalition.
Not only have we been able to bring about an early release of a Labor Opposition position on TAFE should they be re-elected, but we now have the Napthine Government attempting to distance itself from its 2012 budget cuts.
more...Napthine's TAFE funding not enough
New Victorian Premier Denis Napthine today announced that the Government will reinvest $50 million per year into TAFE over the next four years.
This is a positive start from the new Premier, however it is only a very small step in repairing the significant damage caused by the budget cuts to TAFE.
This money will not alleviate the cost of education for students, nor will it see the reinstatement of the 2000 teachers who lost their jobs across the state.
more...Ex-TAFE teacher forced to work for $9/hour
Since being made redundant from TAFE, teacher David Newman has been working in a warehouse while struggling to find another secure teaching position.
David took what he thought was a casual job at JM Packaging in Melbourne (a contractor for Woolworths) to help pay the bills while he searched for a teaching role.
Employed under a sham contracting arrangement, David ended being paid $9 per hour for his work. He was told he needed an ABN and that he would be paid piece rates.
The National Union of Workers has set up a petition demanding that JM Packaging stop using sham contracts pay David at the legal minimum wage.
David was a member of the Australian Education Union for 19 years before being made redundant from his TAFE position because of the Baillieu Government's TAFE cuts.
more...AEU lodges FOI request for damage bill at GOTAFE
The Australian Education Union has today lodged a Freedom of Information request compelling education provider GOTAFE to disclose information revealing the impact of the Baillieu Government's cuts.
The Institute has so far refused to reveal the total number of job losses and course closures that have resulted from the Government's $300 million TAFE cuts.
It is in the public interest for public TAFEs to disclose how the State Government's cutbacks have impacted on their staff, campuses and opportunities for the local community. GOTAFE has 45 days to formally respond to our request for information.
The AEU wants to make it very clear that regional and rural Victoria has been especially hurt by these cuts and it's high time we knew exactly the extent of the damage so far.
more...TAFE Transition (aka Trashing) Panel
As part of a question asked of Minister Hall in Parliament yesterday, it was revealed that one of the TAFE Transition Panel members, Marianne Lourey, is being paid $517,000 for nine months work to oversee the Transition (aka Trashing) of TAFE.
Also revealed was that the contract for the work was never even put out to tender.
In May 2012, after the announcement of the savage cuts to TAFE, Minister Hall sent a letter to TAFE CEOs. In it, he stated that he shared "emotions of shock, incredulity, disbelief and anger" over the cuts to TAFE.
I wonder, Minister Hall, if you share our emotions of disgust at this revelation!
more...Baillieu's TAFE cuts cause major drop in TAFE enrolments
The Australian Education Union has called on the Baillieu Government to reinstate the $300 million it cut from the public TAFE sector, following the release of Victorian Centre for Tertiary Admissions (VTAC) figures showing a 25.8 per cent drop in TAFE applications.
The VTAC figures also revealed that at least 170 fewer TAFE courses were available this year.
The fact that the Baillieu Government is quibbling over the accuracy of the data based on its release date shows a brazen disregard for the damage they've caused to Victorians who relied on TAFE to receive a quality education.
more...Teachers ask Baillieu: "Spare a thought for us" this Christmas
The AEU has released a booklet of personal stories from a number of Victorian TAFE teachers who have lost their jobs as a result of the Government's $300 million in cuts to TAFE in 2012.
Addressed to Premier Baillieu, the booklet – Spare a Thought for Us this Christmas: A Message from Victorian TAFE Teachers – has also been sent to all Members of Parliament.
AEU Victorian Branch President Mary Bluett said the booklet told the real story of the cuts and the enormous impact they were having on people's lives and the sector.
"These stories are sentiments felt across the estimated 2000 Victorian TAFE staff made redundant. As the Premier, Ted Baillieu must take responsibility for the job losses, course cancellations, campus closures and fee increases for students in TAFE," Bluett says.
more...Community TAFE rally in Traralgon, Dec 2
Celebrate possibility of a One Term Ted in Traralgon this Sunday at a community rally and free BBQ, followed by a march to Skills Minister Peter Hall's electorate office.
more...Second round of cuts hit hard at Gordon TAFE
In devastating news for the Geelong community, the Gordon Institute of TAFE has announced it will cut a futher 55 jobs and drop 27 courses next year in response to the Baillieu Government's drastic funding cuts to the sector.
Over 70 equivalent full-time teaching and management positions — including an unknown number of fixed-term and sessional teachers — have already been made redundant to date, meaning that up to 100 teachers have lost ongoing positions at The Gordon so far this year.
The Gordon lost $16.4 million as part of the Government's $300 million in cuts to the Victorian public TAFE system in its May budget.
more...How is your TAFE affected by funding cuts?
In September, a leaked cabinet-in-confidence document summarising transition plans submitted by Victoria's TAFE colleges revealed the extent of the devastation wraught by the Baillieu Government's funding cuts to the sector.
The document, leaked to The Age and ABC TV, showed a sector forced to adopt desperate measures to stay afloat, with institutes proposing a raft of campus and course closures, mergers, substantial fee hikes, job losses and tens of millions of dollars of asset sales.
Regional campuses would be hardest hit, with potential sell-offs including Bendigo's Castlemaine campus, Central Gippsland's Yallourn site, Kangan's Moreland campus, and a campus in Ararat. Chisholm Institute's Mornington Peninsula, Bass Coast and Cranbourne campuses are also "at risk".
The document also confimed Swinburne's intention to cease delivering TAFE programs at Lilydale by July 1 next year, and close Prahran in January 2014. Victoria Uni also asked the Government to sell its Sunbury site.
more...Community TAFE rally to greet Ted in Geelong
Ted Baillieu will be in Geelong on Friday October 19 to speak at the Victorian Chamber of Commerce (VECCI) regional business convention — and the Save TAFE campaign will be there to greet him.
He will be expecting "gate-crashers" (the Geelong Advertiser's description), so let's give the Premier a noisy welcome!
What we know so far
This document makes grim reading.
It's a short summary of what we now know about the cuts at each Victorian TAFE institute — how many millions of dollars have been cut this year and last, how many jobs are projected to go, the number of courses at risk and the impact on campuses.
more...Treasury Gardens rally tells Ted: these cuts are hurting Victoria
Kyneton, Orbost, Yarram, Swifts Creek, Castlemaine, Lilydale, Sale, Shepparton, Prahran, Glenormiston, Bairnsdale, Mildura, Traralgon, Warragul, Chadstone, Morwell, Coburg, Leongatha, Yallourn, Heyfield.
The list of campuses under threat is a rollcall of shame that only begins to describe the destruction being visited on public TAFE by the Baillieu Government.
The campaign against these closures is not going away — that much was clear from 2000 or more TAFE supporters that voiced their opposition to the Baillieu Government's savage cuts from beneath the Premier's office window today.
more...Rally on Thursday against the TAFE cuts
We are now fighting for the very survival of TAFE in Victoria.
The leaked documents revealed in The Age today drive home how savage and devastating the Baillieu Government's TAFE cuts are for the Victorian economy and the futures of young people.
A dozen campuses are under threat: Lilydale, Prahran, Castlemaine, Yallourn, Moreland, Ararat, Mornington, Bass Coast, Cranbourne, Sunbury ... a roll call of shame for the Baillieu Government. And there are more listed in the document.
more...Baillieu cuts strike again with job cuts at Chisholm and VU
The AEU has called on the Baillieu Government to immediately reinstate the $300 million it cut from the public TAFE system, following the announcement that over 220 positions would be cut from Chisholm Institute and over 60 positions at Victoria University by the end of the year.
AEU Victorian Branch President, Mary Bluett said the State Government must be held accountable for the devastation it has caused at TAFE institutes across Victoria. "The Baillieu Government was responsible for $32m in cuts to Victoria University and $28m at Chisholm."
Yesterday it was announced that 30 EFT teachers from VU's trades area will be cut, up to 34 EFT teachers from the VU college — which provides English programs to international students and to disadvantaged students doing foundation courses — will go and two IT positions. We understand that these will be a mixture of voluntary and targeted redundancies.
Chisholm has announced it will cut 190 teaching positions, 4 senior management positions and an unknown number of fixed term and sessional teachers. In addition, 27 courses will be closed.
These cuts come in addition to those announced earlier in the year which included 50 job losses, course cuts and fee increases.
more...Save our Swinburne campaign hits Parliament tomorrow
The petitions for the Save Our Swinburne (Lilydale and Prahran Campus) and the Prahran Campus specific will be presented to MLAs on the steps of Parliament this Wednesday September 12 at 12.30pm.
Click here to sign the online petition.
On July 6, Swinburne management announced it intended to close its Lilydale and Prahran campuses in response to the State Government's funding cuts.
Please join the Save Our Swinburne Lilydale/Prahran Facebook page to get all the updates on the campaign, and to find out about actions, including a planned flashmob event in the near future.
State Labor Member for Monbulk, Deputy Opposition Leader James Merlino, says the previous Save Swinburne Lilydale petition petition tabled in Parliament was the biggest Monbulk petition in his ten years as an MP.
At the same time Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews tabled TAFE4All's massive 25,242-strong petition to save TAFE.
The future of tertiary education and training in the outer east will also be the topic of discussion at a public forum on Wednesday 26 September.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Graham Warren is urging interested community members to attend the forum at Mt Lilydale Mercy College Centennial Hall, 120 Anderson Street, Lilydale at 5.30 pm.
more...
Re-live the action: TAFE4All rally video
Here's our video of the Melbourne TAFE4All rally on August 16. It's a bit long -- sorry, we couldn't help ourselves!
We're heading back to the regions to give a warm TAFE4All welcome to the Victorian Parliament as it sits in Bendigo and Ballarat on September 6. Please be there if you can. More info here.
If you can't make it, then please join the virtual rally on twitter. Tweeting the following message from 11am on Thursday:
NO ifs NO buts NO TAFE cuts. Support Vic #TAFE Virtual Rally 6 Sept. RT now #TAFE4ALL #auspol #springst
TAFE to rally as government meets in Bendigo and Ballarat
State Parliament will be sitting in Bendigo and Ballarat on Thursday September 6 — and the Save TAFE campaign will be there to greet them.
more...Thousands of TAFE supporters rock and rally in Melbourne
![IMG 4702 [img 4702.jpg]](pics/img_4702.jpg "IMG 4702 [img 4702.jpg]")
Thank you to the thousands of TAFE staff, students and supporters who turned out in Melbourne today as part of our biggest rally yet against the Baillieu Government's savage TAFE cuts. Click here to see the photos on facebook.
There was plenty of passion on show, along with some great placards and creative chanting! "TAFE for All, TAFE for All, the Baillieu Government's dropped the ball" rang out as we marched from the State Library to Spring Street, though no chant seems to beat "Save TAFE, sack Ted!" in the popularity stakes.
At Spring Street, a petition of thousands of names was handed to opposition leader Daniel Andrews to table in Parliament. We were entertained by comedian and TAFE teacher Tim Ferguson and rocked out to the strains of "We Are The Champions" and "We're Not Gonna Take It", care of NMIT music students Aaron Schultz and Hamish Dutton.
more...RMIT comp showcases training standards at TAFE
As part of its Open Day last weekend, RMIT held a Trades Skills competition in which teams of apprentices competed to produce the best work under pressure.
Watched by their employers and trade teachers, three teams of six students from RMIT's plumbing, electrical and refrigeration programs had just 40 minutes to complete a demanding installation project. See the photos on flickr.
While just last week ABC TV's 7.30 Report was exposing the extent of rorting by numerous shonky private providers — making millions giving apprentices no training and faking evidence of their work — RMIT's Open Day showcased the dedicated hands-on training provided at TAFE, and the level of competency its students are required to demonstrate.
more...Chisholm rally and ABC report highlight need to back TAFE
Hundreds of staff, students and members of the local Frankston community joined together yesterday at Chisholm TAFE to rally against the TAFE cuts.
A delegation also presented a strongly worded letter to local Member for Frankston Geoff Shaw. Pinned to the outside wall of the minister's electorate office, the letter urged Shaw to support his local community by demanding that Premier Baillieu stop squandering public money on private, shonky providers and redirect it toward quality TAFE providers.
The letter noted that government spending on private training has risen by 400%, while TAFE has attracted a mere 4% in added funding over the same period.
Peter Malone, president of the AEU Chisholm sub-branch, said the event proved a "very successful lunchtime rally, with between 100 and 200 in the march to the MP's office for the letter presentation, and twice that number at the pre-march sausage sizzle."
Visit TAFE4All on facebook to see the photos from the rally.
Read the coverage in the Frankston Leader here.
Also yesterday, ABC TV's 7.30 Report screened a damning report on the extreme scams private RTOs are getting away with under the current deregulated VET system.
more...Get ready to rally, Melbourne!
After rallies all around the state, Melbourne finally gets its chance to stand up for TAFE against the attacks of the Baillieu Government.
Tomorrow, let's prove how passionate we are about the hope and opportunities our public TAFE system provides to thousands of students every year.
Please join us on the State Library Green, Thursday August 16 at midday, before marching to Parliament House, where we can tell the Government exactly what we think of its $300m cuts to TAFE.
We need as many people as possible there to show the State Government how much TAFE matters to us — the Victorian community it's supposed to represent.
TAFE4All is asking supporters who can't attend the rally to help get TAFE "trending" on twitter by tweeting messages of support with the hashtag #TAFE from 12pm tomorrow.
Tell Ted it's about building opportunity and community. Not tearing it down!
Download a rally poster here. See you there!
Keeping up the fight to save TAFE
Staff and students from Swinburne Lilydale are holding a Save Our Swinburne Community Rally tomorrow, August 8, 12pm, at the Lilydale Campus LA Building, Jarlo Drive (off Melba Ave).
The rally is in response to Swinburne University management plans to close its Lilydale campus and retrench 120 ongoing teachers, 100 fixed-term teachers and 120 administrative staff.
Also tomorrow, the City of Greater Geelong will also be hosting a Public Forum from 6pm to discuss the impact of the funding cuts on The Gordon TAFE. The forum will be held at the Geelong West Town Hall, 153 Pakington Street.
Despite thousands of supporters protesting the funding cuts at TAFE4All rallies across Victoria, the Baillieu Government has shown no regard for the damage its cuts are doing to people's lives and the Victorian TAFE system.
We need as many people as possible to promote and attend the major TAFE4All Rally to Save TAFE on August 16 at the State Library in Melbourne. Please encourage everyone you know to come.
The Victorian Government must understand that we will take this fight right up to the next state election. Make Baillieu rue the day he ever touched our public TAFE sector!
Sign our TAFE petition — and get your friends to sign it too
The TAFE4All campaign has launched a petition to drive home how widespread public opposition is to the Baillieu Government's attempts to destroy the TAFE system.
Download the petition here, print it off and circulate it among your colleagues, family and friends, then return it to us at the address printed on the form.
We're aiming to get as many signatures as possible before our SAVE TAFE rally outside the State Library on August 16. We can't do it without your help — so download a form now and spread the word.
more...TAFE supporters rally across Melbourne
The TAFE4All regional roadshow throughout May and June saw thousands of teachers, students and supporters rally at TAFE institutes around the state.
Now we are hitting campuses across Melbourne in a bid to save TAFE following the Baillieu Government's savage budget cuts.
We are seeing strong turnouts at rallies and meetings across the metro TAFE institutes.
These will culminate in a mass RALLY TO SAVE TAFE on Thursday, AUGUST 16, at the State Library from 12pm, followed by a march to Parliament. Download a poster here.
Please join us at your nearest campus to be part of the fightback and voice your opposition to this act of destruction.
Dates and times are yet to be finalised, but our proposed schedule is below. We will have flyers available after the start of Term 3, and will keep you up to date on our Facebook events page so you can let your friends know you'll be there.
more...Vic Uni staff and students stand up for TAFE
Hundreds of staff, students and community members rallied for Celebrate TAFE Day at Victoria University today. See some pics here.
Along with enjoying free food, music and rousing speeches, those in attendance passed a series of motions in support of TAFE (listed below):
more...Tally of Victorian TAFE cuts
Victoria has 18 TAFE institutes, most with several branches. The following information on the impact of the Victorian Government’s budget cuts to TAFE has been sourced from publicly available data or information the NTEU has confirmed independently (as of July 11).
more...VU rallies for TAFE — Tuesday July 24
Tuesday is Celebrate TAFE day at Victoria University. Staff students and community will be standing up for TAFE from midday in the Rotunda of the Footscray Nicholson Street campus. Join them and send the message: No ifs, no buts, no more cuts!
more...Bendigo TAFE cuts hurt local families
I met with Bendigo TAFE CEO Maria Simpson yesterday to discuss staff redundancies at Bendigo TAFE.
Bendigo TAFE last month announced its plan to make 100 staff redundant and cut 39 courses by the end of the year after the Baillieu Government wiped $9 million from its annual budget.
As I told the Bendigo Advertiser, the ramifications of these cuts will last for years to come.
People are not just numbers. Every staff member to lose his or her job has a name and a family. Some will have to move away from the region to find work.
Read the full Bendigo Advertiser story here. There you can also watch a video of students concerned about fee rises.
more...July 16: Rally against the Swinburne cuts
Last Friday's shock announcement from Swinburne University management about its decision to retrench 120 ongoing teachers, 100 fixed-term teachers and 120 administrative staff was the latest devastating blow to the Victorian TAFE sector.
The 340-plus people who now face the loss of their jobs at Swinburne has swelled the number of TAFE staff across Victoria who have already been told that there is no work for them at their TAFE institute.
The AEU and the NTEU are hosting a major rally on Monday July 16 at the Lilydale campus against these devastating cuts and their effect on teachers, support staff, students and the local community. Download a flyer here.
more...Our TAFE4All meeting with Minister Hall
I was part of a delegation that met with Minister Peter Hall last week to talk about the impact of the State Government's TAFE cuts.
The group met in a cafe around the corner from Parliament House. It was a sombre mood following the shock budget announcement that up to 80% of TAFE courses would be cut and Victoria University would lose $16 million in block public provider funding.
This has impacted on communities, especially in regional areas. If the TAFE closes down, they will not have access to locally based affordable tertiary education, leaving them with two options — either to move or to sit on the couch.
more...HELP SAVE TAFE - SEND YOUR MESSAGE NOW
Please ask your local MPs to fight the Baillieu Government's massive cuts to Victorian TAFE.
Click here now to send your message.
more...Baillieu booed in Ballarat
Premier Ted Baillieu faced a heated crowd of TAFE supporters when he attended a Rural Press Club of Victoria function in Ballarat today.
more...TAFE4All taking fight to Peter Hall's office
Students and teachers from Central Gippsland Institute of TAFE will today hold a public rally in protest of the Baillieu Liberal-National Coalition Government’s $300 million in Budget cuts from the Victorian public TAFE system.
The rally will be held today, Tuesday 5 June at 12.30pm outside Minister Peter Hall’s office, 181 Franklin Street, Traralgon.
more..."I can't believe the Government would stoop that low"
Victoria's regions have responded strongly to the AEU's campaign to Save TAFE, with great turnouts at the first of our regional campus rallies.
Country communities rely heavily on their local TAFEs and know they will be hardest hit by the Government's $300 million funding cuts.
more...TAFE rallies head to the country
Regional TAFE institutes will be the hardest hit by Baillieu's savage cuts, so next week TAFE4All will be heading to the regions to rally support for the campaign to save TAFE.
Join us at your nearest campus to be part of the fightback and voice your opposition to this act of destruction.
Download a flyer and help spread the word, and go to our Facebook events page to let your friends know you'll be there.
more...Why TAFE was so important to me
Today's guest post is from Rory Burnside. Rory completed a music performance diploma at Box Hill Institute of TAFE, despite the fact that he has no eyes, a cleft lip and cleft palate, Asperger syndrome and epilepsy. Read more about Rory here.
You can check out Rory's band, Rudely Interrupted, on their myspace page.
Here is why TAFE was so important to me...
more...Rally to save TAFE: students speak out
"Disbelief. ... I thought it must have been a joke!"
That was the repsonse of NMIT student Andrea when she heard about the massive funding cuts to public TAFE.
Sadly, it's no joke. The Baillieu Government has cut a whopping $300 million from our public TAFEs.
more...TAFE needs your help
Rally to fight the TAFE cuts
Thursday May 10
12.30pm–1.30pm
1 Treasury Place, Melbourne
TAFE needs your help.
This week the Baillieu Government announced the most savage cuts yet to our public TAFE system.
The changes to funding set out in Tuesday's state budget will rip hundreds of millions of dollars out of the system, lead to course closures, higher student fees and thousands of job losses.
more...Baillieu takes the axe to TAFE
The TAFE system is now in a struggle for survival as the Coalition prepares to announce massive funding cuts in tomorrow's budget that will hammer the life chances of thousands of Victorians.
TAFE CEOs have been told they will lose entirely the additional funding they receive to fulfil their public service function and provide support to students including library, learning support and counselling services.
The decision will mean a cut of up to 22% in base funding, with some courses also having funding slashed from around $8 an hour to less than $2. The cuts are announced despite all but three institutes recording an operating loss last year.
more...Young dad "collateral damage" from Baillieu's policies
"Jack", aged 25 and with 4 young children, has had a few pretty ordinary jobs but now has his sights set on a adult apprenticeship and a career as a motor mechanic.
He is actively canvassing local employers, who frequently suggest that his chances of employment would be improved if he "did a Cert 2 Auto course at TAFE to show that he could do well in the training".
more...Victoria now national measure of bad funding system
On March 28, I was fortunate to be part a group of four delegates from the Victorian Branch of the AEU, as part of a larger delegation from the other states.
We were there to lobby politicians and to push for changes to the current vocational education and training (VET) funding model being used in Victoria.
The other states there were desperate not to end up with the "Victorian system".
Yes, we are now the national measure of a bad system in VET funding.
more...IEU sends support for TAFE4All
I write on behalf of the Committee of Management and members of the Independent Education Union Victoria/Tasmania to express our support for TAFE and the TAFE4ALL campaign.
We deplore the Baillieu Government’s cuts to the TAFE system and the impact of these on the wage security, pay and conditions of TAFE teachers.
more...Stripping public TAFE to line private pockets
Students and parents are not aware that if a young person has done an entry-level course and then comes back to TAFE in his or her 20s with that prior qualification, they must train at a higher level to avoid paying full fees up front.
It is now about $2000 for a diploma to become a registered nurse if the student doesn't have a previous qualification at that level or above.
But if they did a horticulture diploma ten years ago, then want to come back and do nursing, they now have to pay full fee rates. The result is that many of them can't access basic education to get a trade qualification.
more...TAFE vs private RTO? No comparison
I was enrolled at a private RTO for just over a year as part of my carpentry apprenticeship.
It was a terrible experience.
When I started I had a vision of what it would be. I thought there would be structured schooling environment. Instead, it was just in a factory with an office, like a shed, that doubled as a classroom.
After the first couple of visits, I asked them if there was a book I should have, so they dug out an out-of-date teaching manual and threw that at me.
more...Get ready, Melbourne! TAFE4All hits metro TAFEs, March 27-29
We have seen a fabulous turn-out at TAFE campuses across Victoria as the TAFE4All campaign makes its way around the state this month.
Hundreds of students and their teachers have joined the campaign, outraged by the rise in TAFE fees this year. Click here to see the photos.
With Gillard announcing a boost in skills funding earlier this week, it's time the Baillieu Government came up with a plan for saving the vocational education and training sector in this state.
more...We're just watching things go backwards
The changes to TAFE funding mean we no longer have enough funding to run classes. We’re having to shorten courses, we’re having to fit more students in the class to meet the financial budget, and at the same time we’re being told to be more flexible and all the rest. We’re caught in the crossfire.
The workload’s getting higher and higher so teachers are getting more stressed. At this stage we’re holding things together but only just, due to a lot of extra commitment in our own time.
I'm just really tired of being screwed financially. The Government's just forever pulling the money back and back.
Last year I got so upset I actually wrote to Premier Ted Baillieu in the end. I said: “You can't make efficiencies forever. At some point in time you're going to have to start cutting quality to do it.” That's where we're at now.
It’s making a joke of our trade qualifications. At the end of the day we’re going to be putting people out there that really don’t know much because we haven’t got the resources to teach them anymore.
The private organisations aren’t interested in courses like ours because they can’t make any money out of them, so we’re left to do the stuff that needs to be done, with nothing.
We want to put quality back out into the community. We’re looking for people who want to be really good tradespeople, and to have to try and pass out a less than ideal result is soul-destroying.
We’re just watching things going backwards.
— Posted by John Francis, automative teacher, Ballarat University TAFE
more...TAFE4All — coming to a campus near you
The TAFE 4 All campaign is making its way around the state, visiting TAFE campuses across Victoria to alert students, staff and community to the Government's fee hikes.
So far hundreds of TAFE students and teachers have joined the campaign to stop the RTO rip-offs and keep TAFE affordable. Click here to see the photos.
Join us at your nearest campus for a free sausage sizzle and a chat about how you can stay engaged with the campaign!
See the TAFE4All tour itinerary below or email us to find out more.
TAFE4All tour
Tuesday March 6 — Ballarat University, TAFE campus
Wednesday March 7 — Gordon TAFE, Geelong Fenwick Street campus
Thursday March 8 — South West Institute of TAFE, Warrnambool campus
Tuesday March 13 — Wodonga TAFE, 12.30pm
Wednesday March 14 — Goulburn Ovens TAFE, Shepparton, 12.30pm; Wangaratta campus, 3pm
Thursday March 15 — Bendigo Regional TAFE, 12.30pm
Tuesday March 20 — Swinburne (Croydon campus), 12 midday
Wednesday March 21 — Box Hill TAFE, Elgar campus, 12 midday
Thursday March 22 — Chisholm TAFE, Frankston, 12 midday
Monday March 26 — NMIT, Preston, 12 midday
Tuesday March 27 — RMIT, Brunswick campus, 12 midday
Wednesday March 28 — Victoria University (Newport campus), 12 midday
more...TAFE student says it like it is
Students have expressed their outrage and disbelief at rising TAFE fees, with many telling TAFE4All that the increased costs have put their ability to complete their course at risk.
The TAFE 4 All campaign has been on road this week, visiting TAFE campuses in Ballarat, Geelong and Warrnambool and talking to students, staff and community about the impact of the Baillieu Government's funding cuts.
more...Hundreds join the campaign against cuts
The TAFE 4 All campaign is on road this week, visiting TAFE campuses across Victoria to alert students, staff and community to the Government's fee hikes.
Hundreds of students and their teachers turned out for the launch of the 2012 campaign at Ballarat's TAFE campus today. Click here to see the photos.
more...TAFE losing teachers so that privates can make quick buck
Just over a week ago, Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE announced it may have to make up to nine teaching staff redundant following falling enrolments.
The drop in enrolments follow last year's massive funding cuts to TAFE by the Baillieu Government, along with sweeping changes to the funding of Victoria's education and training sector for 2012 and beyond.
more...Back the sector we trust, say Victorians
TAFE has been hitting local papers this week, after a new survey showed that 99% of respondents opposed government cuts to the sector.
Regional Victorians felt particularly strongly about this, with the vast majority saying TAFE should remain publicly owned.
Stories in the Shepparton News and Bendigo Advertiser reported that more than 75% of respondents believed the government should invest in TAFE as a priority, ahead of private training companies.
After overspending on vocational training by $200million last year, the Baillieu Goverment is planning further funding cuts to TAFE totalling $230m across four years.
As a result, the sector is experiencing massive job losses, fee hikes, course closures, shaving of hours and reduced places. Just last week Bendigo TAFE announced another round of redundancies due to low enrolments.
Meanwhile, Letters to the Editor pages are featuring sorry tales about the impact of rising course fees and the exploitation of young trainees by private trainers rorting the system to make a profit.
One particularly shocking letter to the Herald Sun told the story of a 16-year-old girl offered a holiday job at a fast-food chain, which promised her a "guaranteed" 13-hours a week work and a Certificate III in Retail Training.
After pocketing the $1500 traineeship sign-on payment, the chain gave her just four or five hours a week (about $800 worth in total) plus the "odd half-hour of tuition" before letting her go due to "a downturn in sales".
Sadly this kind of experience is becoming all too common.
As the letter's author said: "Your taxes at work, folks."
more...TAFE fees breaking the bank — and my heart
I am a CERT IV Massage Therapy graduate and aspiring writer. I am hoping to study CERT IV in Professional Writing and Editing at Swinburne TAFE (Prahran Campus) this year.
I initially enrolled into Massage so as to have a trade to pay the bills as I write. I believed that, as a concession card holder and seeing as my course of choice is at the same level as the one I studied last year, that I wouldn't have to worry about excessive fees.
The other day I received a phone call from Swinburne TAFE to advise me that because my Writing CERT IV is not an upgrade from my Massage CERT IV I now need to fork out $7,000-plus in fees if I wish to be enrolled in my course. My application is being held while I figure out where I'm meant to pluck this money from.
I won't deny it, I am heartbroken.
Government-subsidised waiver of fees do not apply to my course (which would change the figure of my course fees to a mere $187) as Professional Writing and Editing is not part of a Skills Shortage list released by DEEWR.
Can anyone point me in the direction of a rich person with dementia who carries in excess of $7K in pocket change — discreetly, of course?
Or perhaps a member of government that can assist me with the lowering of my fees with a few nagging emails and maybe a vehement snail-mail campaign?
Or just point me in the direction of an actually affordable writing course?
more...Premier writing program on the rocks
It is incomprehensible that the highly regarded RMIT TAFE Diploma of Professional Writing & Editing (PWE) program is on the rocks.
The program will be offered as a useless associate degree this year charging $5648 a year in fees. That's more than $11,000 to study at RMIT PWE!
Judy Duffy's energy built the program in the early 1990s. She would be rolling over in her grave. She never would have let Victoria's premier writing program fall so low.
Duffy had spine. She was a fighter.
I took over from her in 1997 and created the Masters of Research (Creative Writing) and a raft of full-fee programs to lower the program's exposure to government funding from 90 percent to 62 percent. I did that to avert this sort of crap.
When I left as director of the Creative Writing programs in 2004, PWE, under the wise leadership of Arthur Clover, charged $500 a year and less if you were on the dole or disability pension. So over an eight-year period, fees have rocketed 1000 percent.
People should be outraged at the Brumby or Baillieu governments. The only way staff and students can stop the destruction of PWE is to fight. But I fear it is one year too late.
The reason PWE was a TAFE program was to make it affordable to students in Collingwood, Fitzroy and the northern suburbs of Melbourne -- students who, in the main, didn't have $50 to their name. RMIT TAFE PWE also played a crucial role in the employment of writers and editors in Melbourne. They can kiss that good bye.
It was a small (almost secret) society of 400 students a year and 20 staff working towards one common purpose: to write and get published. Writing is a trade, not a profession. Remember that.
So instead of having a Non Fiction Conference in November 2012 at RMIT, the staff should have a Fightback Action meeting now and attack using the media, Penguin and absolutely every single student who studied at RMIT PWE in the last 20 years. Pride and reason demands it.
— Posted by Malcolm King, former director RMIT Creative Writing
more...Sessionals first out the door in TAFE crisis
I have been teaching sessionally at various TAFEs in the last 10 years.
Currently, I am teaching ESL at RMIT (5 years) and AMES (7 years) as a sessional staff member.
I have never been made permanent, let alone been offered a contract.
As a sessional teacher, I work as hard and as long (almost full time hours in total) as those ongoing, and yet get paid a lot less. Just like other sessional teachers, I am always chucked out of the door when enrolment numbers are down.
At the time of writing this, I will have no more work next year due to changes that are unfavourable to TAFE and the federal and state government favouring small, private RTOs who offer courses that are sub-standard.
Although sub-standard, students would rather enrol in those courses because they are cheap.
These recent changes make me angry because it demeans the integrity of the teaching profession and undermines the qualifications and training TAFE teachers have done.
This has to stop to give all TAFE teachers the due respect they deserve.
— Posted by Alex Vista, TAFE teacher, RMIT and AMES
more...TAFE tradition under threat
The long, proud history of dedicated and highly skilled workers returning to teach the next generation of workers because of their commitment and passion for their vocation is under threat.
The Victorian TAFE system has been a cornerstone of Victorian development and growth for over 155 years.
The establishment of the Sandhurst Mechanics Institute in 1856 on the goldfields of Bendigo, and later in 1860 the Ballarat Mechanics Institute, were the beginnings of a long history of adult public education in the state that has helped build the futures of hundreds of thousands of Victorians.
The modern TAFE system has survived because of support for and a commitment to public education by various governments over those 155 years. Over the last 10 years that commitment has started to falter.
The Baillieu Government has decided that it will support private, for-profit businesses to provide education and training in competition to TAFE.
Despite the fact that since the introduction of the Skills Reform Policy 16 of the 18 TAFE's now operate at a deficit, the Government has slashed funding to TAFE to fund the expansion of the private, for-profit business sector.
It is stating the obvious, but the private, for-profit sector is involved in education and training to make money.
TAFE has been here to make a future for individuals and Victoria.
When there are no more profits to be made out of adult education and training in Victoria, the private businesses will move on and go and make money elsewhere.
If the Baillieu Government continues to do nothing to support the public TAFE system and fails to addresses the crisis created by the use of market-based mechanisms in public education and training, then who do they think will be here when the profits dry up and those who are only interested in making a buck move on?
Highly skilled, professional and dedicated TAFE teachers are being made redundant because the government has taken money from TAFE to give to for-profit businesses.
Minister Hall must stop the Skills Reform madness and make an open and public commitment to all Victorians that he will stop taking public money off the public TAFE system to give to private companies to increase their profits.
The public TAFE system has survived for 155 years. It is now up to Minister Hall to show some courage and ask Victorians about the future of TAFE for the next 155 years.
The Victorian public must be included in an open review of the current Skills Reform Policy and the future of the public TAFE system.
more...$2500 to update my computer skills? I don't have that money.
As a mature worker I want to update my IT skills in order to remain competitive in the labour market. I was informed that a basic level TAFE course now costs $2,500.
The $2,500 cost is expensive. Not having the money will limit my education, my work and my life choices.
Short courses, as an alternative, are also expensive and do not address all my learning needs.
I believe that fair, affordable access to TAFE courses enriches people’s lives and people’s skills, thus benefiting the whole community.
This is why TAFE courses need to remain accessible and affordable for all.
It should be a basic right to add to your skills — and with computers especially. It's a skill-set listed on so many job criteria and that constantly needs updating — especially for people who are, like me, around 50 and haven’t had computer training in earlier education.
With a broad understanding I can be a better employee, but I’m finding I’m not getting anywhere. Financially I have to work out how this is possible.
more...Football club to abuse government training grants to meet debt
On November 15 the Preston Leader ran a front page story about the Preston Lions Football Club's plan for solving its $100,000 debt crisis. With its "gentleman's entertainment" evenings not raising enough funds, it's devised a plan to enrol as many people as possible in a VET course so they can get $1000 per student.
Somehow this government-funded vocational sports and recreation course is so cheap to run that the club pockets a $1000 "incentive" (read: profit) for every graduating student, described as a "win-win" by the club president.
This appalling story smacks of everything that's wrong with the vocational education sector in this State.
Is anyone going to tell these students that they will have to wait 15 years to get another funded Certificate IV qualification?
Minister Hall must stop the wholesale attack on the quality of vocational education and training in Victoria.
Hall will pass the buck by telling the world that he inherited the Skills Reform Policy from the previous government.
The Victorian Skills Commission will pass the buck by blaming poor advice and lack of oversight from Skills Victoria.
Skills Victoria will blame the VRQA for failing to regulate the RTO involved.
VRQA will blame the lack of resources they require to effectively oversee and regulate the massive number of RTOs in Victoria now.
It's time to stop passing the buck and to start fixing the problem — not the blame.
Minister Hall has the power to put a stop to the crisis called Skills Reform, which is providing a platform to cut TAFE funding and render hundreds of TAFE teachers' jobs redundant.
Hall must act now to save the status and credibility of Victoria's crumbling vocational education and training sector.
more...Resources stretched to breaking point at TAFE institute
Our Institute has raised our class numbers to 15 from 12 per group this year. Apart from the inability to give each student teacher/learning time, we are working with portable power tools, electric machinery and sharp and hazardous hand tools. It is only a matter of time before someone gets injured severely because there are too many students to look after in each group and teachers are having to spread themselves too thin.
The other concern is the amount of students who would normally have been able to enrol in our Certificate II programs who may have completed a Cert II in Food Handling at McDonalds, or completed VCE, and are now ineligible for government funding. They now have to pay in excess of $3600 to do a Cert II Pre-Apprenticeship with no guarantees of a job outcome, and obviously no one is going to pay this much to do a Cert II.
We are being asked to bring our apprentices in for six weeks per year instead of eight weeks to overcome the problems associated with administration and ongoing teacher shortage. We are operating at a level of nearly 55% ongoing at present, and our sessionals do not do any of the admin or student maintenance. All they do is teach and go home and we (ongoing teachers) are left to complete everything else.
We are ready to implode here. If it gets any worse I can see teachers either leaving or ending up so stressed that they won't be able to cope.
— Posted by Steve Lee, Program Coordinator, NMIT
more...The shocking thing I heard on the No 86 tram
I am a Program Coordinator at NMIT. Last night while travelling on the 86 tram, I was appalled to overhear a young man bragging about his fabulous new job.
This is roughly verbatim his boast:
It's the easiest job ever. I get paid $50 to ring people and tell them that the Government is giving away free Diploma courses. I tell them they don't have to pay a thing; they can do any Diploma course they want entirely online, and the Government will pay the full fees.
Every person who signs up means I get $50. I've already made over $1,000! Do you want me to get you in on it?
This is the system the Government has created: so easy to rort. It's money made at the expense of teachers like me and my colleagues.
I decided not to challenge him, but instead got off the tram despairing that education about which I care so much has been so thoughtlessly and recklessly commodified.
— Posted by Catherine Davison, Program Coordinator, Study Skills Advisory Service, NMIT
more...
Everyone losing out under Skills Reform
Currently I am a program coordinator at a large metro TAFE.
I co-ordinate the delivery of four different courses from Cert IV to Diploma. In 2012 I will have 13 groups of students with an expectation of 25 students per group. Staffing is equivalent to seven EFT staff (including myself), and the institute is insisting delivery be done by 30% sessional staff. This increases the administrative duties to engage and induct each sessional staff member.
Discussion has been raised that staff redundancies may be evident in 2012. Already I have experienced this, as a staff member has taken leave without pay from October 2011 until February 2012 and replacement for that person was not granted. Current staff are expected to pick up the duties of that teacher, sessional staff cover the teaching aspect but all other duties are done by staff available.
This is during the time when prospective applicants are interviewed and enrolled and current students finalised. Compliance with Quality requirements places emphasis on these duties.
Fortunately our teaching hours are set at 730 per year, but the demands from students and their increasing needs mean teachers are constantly providing extra support. Our delivery hours are less than the nominal hours for each unit, creating situations where students need support.
Staffing is calculated on delivery hours and not nominal hours, yet fees are set against nominal hours. Tutorials and individual meetings are timetabled to meet the hours.
In our classes we have students who have paid the highest level of fees sitting beside another student who has paid concessional rates. This anomaly is difficult when demands are made. Although we employ the highest level of sessional teachers from Industry, they only attend on the hours they are teaching and are not available for students for follow-up with concerns. When paying such high fees, students are entitled to better service.
The fees under the Skills Reform has seen us lose high-quality applicants who cannot afford fees. We had to cease a Diploma because of fee costs. We are now introducing a Cert III, as fees will be more accessible for those who have no other qualification, but changes the cohort of students we will be teaching.
Staff will be expected to forgo teaching Diploma units, which they are highly trained to do under Vocational Competency, to teach Cert III. The decision for Cert III is to attract students who otherwise would not be accepted into our Cert IV and create a pathway.
— Posted by Marg
more...Time for urgent review of VET in Victoria
It is now clear that a review of the vocational education sector in Victoria is needed urgently.
In late October, the story broke that Holmesglen TAFE made a $6.5 million loan -- that is, public money -- to a private training provider. Holmesglen signed a deal to lend $6.5 million to cash-strapped provider Carrick, with an option to convert that to a 40 per cent stake in the company.
An Auditor-General's Office investigation has found the financial arrangement was outside Holmesglen's legal authority. More than that, it also found that neither Skills Victoria nor the Victorian Skills Commission (VSC), the peak advisory body to the minister, have the leadership skills required to effectively govern TAFE in the new competitive VET environment.
As a case study of TAFE governance arrangements, the report paints a grim picture of Victoria's management of the VET sector over the past decade.
The report noted that consistency [in VET] is established through compulsory compliance with national standards called the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF), monitored by ASQA. But TAFE teachers have known for years that the AQTF standards do nothing to ensure that students receive quality teaching and learning.
A recent survey found that 77% of TAFE teachers believe that the quality of education has fallen since the introduction of the Skills Reform Policy, which forced TAFE to compete against private training companies on the open market.
Now the Government has announced that TAFE funding will be cut to pay for the funding blow-outs that the AEU predicted would occur when the flawed Skills Reform Policy was forced on the sector. In other words, the Government has used taxpayers' money to subsidise private companies to make millions of dollars in profit by offering often dodgy training in areas with little employment prospects.
TAFE, on the other hand, is still trying to meet its obligation of providing accredited training by fully qualified teachers that meets significant skills shortages -- on an ever-shrinking budget.
It is now obvious that those responsible for supervising and managing this crucial public service clearly do not have what it takes. Skills Minister Peter Hall must acknowledge that the VET system in Victoria has failed to ensure a vibrant and successful public TAFE.
Minister Hall must honour his pre-election promise of a full review of the VET sector and stop applying bandaids to the failed market-based experiment in education and training.
— Posted by Greg Barclay, AEU deputy vice president, TAFE
more...Good news for TAFE at last
The Gillard Government has stepped in to stop universities from poaching TAFE students, giving much needed relief to institutes reeling from cuts and competition.
Higher Education Minister Chris Evans yesterday announced that he'd be putting a cap on the number of diplomas and advanced diplomas that universities can offer from 2012.
He said the university sector should not "expand at the expense of TAFEs and other vocational education and training providers" when the caps come off degree courses next year.
VET providers and universities should complement each other in the courses they offer, he said.
That is good news at last for TAFEs. It won't stop the poaching but it should slow it down and end the open slather for students.
We have seen a worrying increase in the number of VET courses being offered by universities, which enjoy student funding up to 50% higher than TAFEs. Indeed, it was an issue flagged up in the Essential Services Commission report last month.
more...Government's flawed plan means job losses for TAFE
Changes to TAFE funding announced this week are already resulting in TAFE institutes revealing the need to offer staff redundancies.
On October 25, Minister Peter Hall told State Parliament that there would need to be “some changes” to funding for vocational education and training (VET) in Victoria.
That has proven to be a gross understatement.
Minister Hall defended his decision by declaring that the Government has taken advice from the Essential Services Commission (ESC) report into funding and fees in VET.
He said: “Some of the recommendations have been put in place immediately to ensure that the full benefit of the recommendations is experienced for 2012 rather than waiting for a further 12 months…”.
Minister Hall chose to ignore the advice from the ESC that the current system is becoming “deleterious to … the value of qualifications and … the administration of public funding”.
In fact, the ESC said quality was one of the constant issues raised at their forums and emphasised the need for action to ensure the integrity of the system in Victoria was addressed.
The need for “regulatory structures designed to provide confidence” was a central message of the ESC report.
But Minister hall has decided to ignore this, instead choosing to implement just two of the report’s 43 recommendations: the two that provide the Government with an excuse to cut funding to public TAFE.
The TAFE funding cuts will result in job losses for teachers to try and patch up the flawed attempt to use competition ideology in our public TAFE system.
Urgent review needed to address crisis in TAFE
The public TAFE system has been under attack since the introduction of the Skills Reform Policy in 2009. Now the State Government's funding cuts are set to make the situation even worse.
We need an urgent inquiry into what Victorians want for their public TAFE institutes and the future of vocational education and training.
With 16 of the 18 TAFE institutes operating at a loss last year under the current model, the crisis makes it glaringly obvious that something urgent needs to be done.
TAFE institutes are already talking about course closures and possible staff reductions next year because of the costs cuts announced by the Government last week.
The Skills Reform Policy was designed to fund private businesses to educate and train people in competition with TAFE. The policy guarantees funding for private businesses which enrol students in courses with little job prospects and design courses with scheduled training that they don’t deliver.
The Baillieu Government will use some of the recommendations from a report by the Essential Services Commission (ESC) to cut money from TAFE to cover up the massive cost blow out from the Skills Reform Policy.
Unbelievably, the Government has failed to implement ESC recommendations to make sure that measures are put in place to address the concerns about the loss of quality in training since the introduction of the Skills Reform, which has seen a continued push to provide education and training in less time than is recommended and paid for.
— Posted by Greg Barclay, AEU Deputy Vice President, TAFE and Adult Provision
more...
TAFE sacrificed to private providers
The TAFE system is being hammered by funding cuts so that private training companies can keep making profits by churning out thousands of retail workers and personal trainers.
The State Government has cut funding to eight metropolitan TAFE institutes and scrapped limits on course fees — effectively shifting even more of the cost of training onto students. Apprenticeship fees will rise by almost 60%.
The Government is scrambling to fix the mess created by the introduction of market-based competition into skills training — by making TAFE foot the bill run up by the huge increase in private providers.
The number of private providers funded by the Government has more than doubled in the past year, offering cheap, taxpayer-subsidised courses under the previous government's 2009 Skills Agenda. It raises serious questions about the quality of provision.
The result has been a $250 million cost blow-out, and a huge increase in students enrolling in courses such as recreation, fitness training and tourism — rather than in courses that actually meet Victoria's critical shortage of skills.
more...TAFE in crisis thanks to Government's reform agenda
News that Victoria's TAFE sector is in financial strife has underlined the catastrophic impact of the government's market reforms in further education and training.
Only two TAFE institutes recorded an operating surplus last year, according to Skills Victoria data reported today. Operating losses across the system totalled $30.5 million, with Swinburne University TAFE alone recording a $6.1m loss.
It is a further blow to students in training and vocational education and to Victoria's economic future, coming on top of $48m cuts to the state's applied learning certificate, VCAL.
And it sends an urgent warning to the Federal Government which is attempting to spread Victoria's market experiment to the rest of Australia.
Growth in the skills sector has come almost entirely from the private sector after the State Government opened up TAFE funding to the market. But the growth comes with a serious health warning about course quality.
AEU TAFE members have reported some dodgy providers offering cut-price courses — including a six-month advanced diploma completed in just five days, students left to find their own placements and even a diploma in counselling offered by correspondence course.
AEU TAFE deputy VP Greg Barclay said: "We are gambling with the futures of our students and the state — the skills training that TAFEs provide has driven the Victorian economy and if courses are cancelled due to lack of funding, private providers will not be able to pick up the pieces."
more...VCAL cuts devastating for disadvantaged youth
At PRACE, we run a VCAL and a PreCAL program for young people who can’t complete their education in a mainstream setting. Our students have significant and complex issues including homelessness, teen parenting, mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, physical, mental and sexual abuse, severe bullying, victims of crime. We work with them so that they can complete their VCAL and re-engage back into education, family, community and society.
We work with the families and support agencies so that our students remain engaged and so there are no cracks to fall through. We spend an incredible amount of time organising work placements that are just right for the students with the hope of a possible apprenticeship, traineeship or full or part-time employment at the end.
We also offer students individual programs if they can’t come to school. For example, if they have extended stays in hospital, I will tailor a program that may help them with recovery. We will also organise a laptop and will skype the student into class so that they can remain connected with their classmates and so the transition from hospital to home is more fluid and the student doesn’t feel like they have missed out on too much.
The program has an integrated curriculum and the theme is healthy eating, healthy choices and healthy lifestyle. Our outcomes are extremely positive, with statistics over the last three years showing over 82% in either study or employment and we are extremely proud of these figures.
Already much of our time is spent getting donations and extra funding. The Government’s VCAL funding cuts will mean that we can no longer take a holistic approach, we won’t be able to tailor individual programs, give out care packages or organise emergency accommodation. We won’t be able to work with families and agencies. We won’t be able to coordinate food donations. We may even have to stop work placements, as these students need more support than other students from mainstream settings.
This is devastating and the more I think about it, the more I realise what we won’t be able to do.
Jane Davey is Manager of Youth Programs, Preston Reservoir Adult Community Education (PRACE)
more...Baillieu cuts $12m from VET
As the skills shortage looms, what government in its right mind slashes the state's vocational education budget?
The Baillieu Government it seems.
Baillieu has just announced plans to slash $12 million a year from VCAL, the vocational option for year 11 and 12 students — a program with a proven record of keeping at-risk students in education.
The cuts mean schools and TAFE institutes will no longer be funded for coordinating VCAL programs.
In other words, all the ongoing needs of the program — planning and developing curriculum, liaising with employers, visiting students during placements and general pastoral support — will fall to teachers, without the current time or co-ordinator allowances awarded for the role.
The result? Ever greater workloads for TAFE teachers and further shaving of hours to cover the black hole created by the funding cuts.
Once again, the Baillieu cuts have disproportionately penalised the most disadvantaged students in the system. The decision seems even more incredible given that the Government has just set up a taskforce to look at the low Year 12 completion rates in regional Victoria.
Mary Bluett, the AEU’s Victorian president, says: “There is a widespread level of discontent with the attitude of the Government in regard to a range of issues — and cutting funding for our most needy students is at the top of the list.”
As Age blogger Elisabeth Tarica asks today: How does a government justify slashing $12 million from vocational education when it's prepared to lose $50 million a year to stage a car race at Albert Park?
Priorities... anyone?
more...Tell your local MP you care about TAFE
The Federal Government is planning to use the next federal funding agreement for TAFE and VET to make significant changes to TAFE funding.
These so-called "reforms" will damage the public TAFE system, undermining its capacity to provide high-quality education and training to students and workers.
To find out more, and send a message, please visit the Federal AEU's Invest in Quality, Invest in TAFE campaign page.
Urge your local federal politician to oppose these reforms and provide adequate funding for TAFE.
CoAG is meeting on Friday, so we need to get as many federal MPs as possible to contact the Prime Minister and the Tertiary Education Minister urgently.
Only TAFE can deliver the quality training and education Australians need.
more...TAFE teachers survey shows crisis in system
The AEU's 2011 TAFE teachers survey has confimed a crisis in Victoria's TAFE system, with nearly 80% saying today's students are not receiving the same quality of education as they were a few years ago, despite a dramatic increase in teacher workload.
The survey shows staff are under unprecedented pressure -- forced to cut costs, shave teaching hours and take on ridiculous amounts of administrative work -- since the introduction of contestable funding and higher student fees for TAFE.
Asked what they would like to tell Minister Peter Hall, one respondent implored: Please Minister, listen to the facts as they are presented to you by teachers such as myself; we are in the best position to evaluate these reforms because we are dealing with the consequences daily. We care about our students, we care about education and we care for the future of Australia. Let's go back to the way things were before the reforms wrecked TAFE education.
Of the 500 respondents, 73% have noticed a drop in enrolments this year, with most feeling that students have been discouraged by higher fees.
Almost 64% said TAFE institutes are shaving hours off course delivery and face-to-face contact with students, with over 30% believing students will be unable to sucessfully complete their study within the reduced hours. Over half said they felt under pressue to pass students who might not be competent.
A marked increase in workload, the push to online course delivery and growing use of sessional staff were all of grave concern among teachers, with 82% saying the Securing Jobs for Your Future reforms have affected their administrative workload "a lot".
TAFE teachers say quality compromised by fees
AEU members at a Melbourne TAFE institute have told the AEU they believe the quality of training at their institute is being compromised due to increased fees and competition with registered training organisations (RTOs).
Shaving the hours of delivery, a “come one, come all” approach to student recruitment, high fees, retiring teachers not being replaced, increasing casualisation and ridiculous workloads are just a handful of concerns for these teachers.
These are some of the comments from members:
I have noticed that the fees have driven students away. If students are looking at a few grand to do a year at TAFE, why wouldn't they spend that money and do Uni instead?
Our students include many who have worked in other vocational areas, or are returning to work and retraining. These people have equivalent or higher qualifications (such as teaching, nursing qualifications) and the new fee structure has severely burdened them financially.
Most students will not pay fee for service of nearly $12,000 so the industry losses some highly qualified individuals who may have made excellent … practitioners/supervisors.
So-called reforms driving down quality of TAFE education
The AEU's 2011 survey of TAFE members has featured in today's Age article, System ruins quality say TAFE teachers.
The story reports that while there has been a surge in demand for vocational education in Victoria, the bulk of the increase has gone to private providers - something TAFE teachers are deeply concerned about.
The results of the AEU survey clearly show that TAFE teachers believe the new system is driving down the quality of education across the board as students turn to cheaper courses at private providers.
In making TAFE compete with private providers, which have lower wages and infrastructure costs, TAFEs are under pressure to reduce costs.
Despite their best efforts to ensure that students get access to high-quality education and training, TAFE teachers are being forced to increase class sizes, reduce the amount of teaching they do, and "pass" students who might not be ready.
The AEU will be using the results of this survey to lobby for much needed reform to TAFE. We want to see changes to the current funding model, including a boost to the overall level of Victorian government funding, and better access to concession places for students.
Education is about long-term futures for individuals and communities. It should never be about short-term budgets and profits.
more...Change management or an excuse for bullying?
An emergency meeting was called at the Gordon Institute of TAFE on Tuesday June 21 following serious issues arising from a Leading Teams "change management" session held in the previous week.
AEU members have reported feeling intimidated and bullied when participating in the Leading Teams program, an organisational change model being implemented at the Gordon.
Approximately 98 people attended the emergency meeting, with 10 apologies, which was an amazing response at such short notice. It was obvious that people feel very concerned about their own and others' welfare and wellbeing.
The courage of those who spoke about their experiences, and the support in the room from others as they told their stories, was overwhelming at times.
It is obvious that people at the Gordon care for their colleagues, their profession and their Institute and are concerned about what is happening to people required to participate in this program.
The AEU has tried for the past two years to have the Gordon TAFE's management listen to concerns about the program, but to date they have not responded.
This is a serious issue that is of immense concern to the AEU. We will not let our members be exposed to any form of intimidation or harassment at the workplace.
If you want to discuss this matter, please add your comments below or contact me: greg.barclay@aeuvic.asn.au.
more...Calling all TAFE students, past and present... the AEU needs your help
Victorian Higher Education Minister Peter Hall has announced that the Essential Services Commission will be undertaking a review of the fees and charges for students at TAFE.
We need your help in collecting information about the fees and charges in TAFE for us to include in the AEU’s formal submission on the review.
Please visit the TAFE4All survey site to complete a short questionnaire for us before June 22.
Last year, by working together, we were successful in having concessions reintroduced for students under 25 studying at the Diploma and Advanced Diploma levels. We now need to push for more changes to the fees you pay.
We must use the opportunity presented by this review and push again to ensure that TAFE remains accessible and affordable for all students.
more...No FEE-HELP makes TAFE unaffordable
I am aged 30 and am re-entering study and working after 7 years of ill health (with health issues continuing).
I was greatly disheartened when I began to investigate TAFE study to find that the previous concessions had been removed and that there was no FEE-HELP/HECS type scheme to help people.
After sustaining full-time employment after finishing a university degree, I was out of the workforce for seven years due to mental illness. I have done various volunteer roles in this time.
With support I have progressed to working 3–6 hours per week in the last couple of months, which is sustainable while I am well and building stamina.
As work in my previous area of study — IT/e-commerce — is not suitable for me now, I need to pursue other work avenues.
I would like to study a certificate that is related to my current area of work, an exhibitions assistant in a community art gallery. In particular I would like to investigate a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, as I have also recently tutored a community group in computer skills.
But because of the Bachelors degree I completed in 2001 and my age, I am required to pay full fees up front.
more...The state of TAFE - have your say
If you care about the state of our TAFE system, now is your chance to tell the Government why equitable and affordable access to TAFE is so important to you.
On 4 May 2011 the Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall announced a public inquiry into TAFE fees and funding arrangements. This is the first stage of the State Government's review.
As you know, the AEU and it supporters have campaigned hard over the last few years to raise awareness of the negative consequences of the previous government's Skills Reform agenda.
Now, we are calling on all people who support the public TAFE system to send in their stories of how the new fees and charges have impacted on you, or on your friends and family.
Tell us — and the Victorian Government — what changes you would like to see.
more...Borrowing money to keep studying
I have re-enrolled this year in the Diploma of Community Welfare and I have to pay $2000 for this year. I have had to access VET Fee Help at this stage to stay in the course; I have had to borrow the money to complete the course. I am 39 and a single parent.
The fees are a lot of money for me to find particularly as a future in community welfare is one of the lowest remunerated occupations. I still have to find the money for the books if I choose to buy them. They are useful industry books and I have not been able to purchase them. It is extremely disappointing that the TAFE fees are so high. I am actually thinking that it might be better for me to transfer to the degree and suffer the debt to earn more money ultimately. But the advantage of completing the diploma locally is networking locally.
more...No-one should be stopped from bettering their lives with TAFE
My son is 18 and is attending Holmesglen TAFE.
Even though his offer is considered a government-supported place and he had a concession, it still costs nearly $800 for his tuition and fees.
When he received his offer letter in the mail we were under the impression that we would have to pay a $300 enrolment fee, but didn't realise that this was in addition to tutoring fees.
There are also books that he is required to buy for his course.
The $800 was just for the first semester.
As a graduate teacher who has been working on contract for the past two years and have not had my contract renewed this year, it is difficult and frustrating to find a job as a graduate and once again I am on Centrelink to provide for my family.
Having to help my son to pay his fees for TAFE when he has a government-supported place is draining on both the finances and the temper!
He is also now required to buy a massage table and towels to be able to complete his studies, and although we realised this would probably be something he had to have eventually, it is yet another cost on a very restricted budget, as he only receives youth allowance.
We weren't informed about what the actual TAFE costs would be and how much would have to be paid upfront. We did not expect that a government-supported place would be as costly as this.
more...Disillusioned to the point of dropping out
I became so disillusioned with the TAFE fees and system that I did not re-enrol this year.
Instead, I have gone on to do a Bachelor of Writing and Publishing at NMIT where at least I was eligible for FEE-HELP and not discriminated against because of my age (59). If the government wants to have a skilled workforce then they must invest, at both a state and federal level, in both the youth as well as those wishing to change careers.
No longer are we able or willing to remain in the one career all our lives and this needs to be acknowledged and supported by governments and educational institutions; otherwise we risk generations of depression, unskilled workers or people fleeing overseas.
more...Pensioners priced out of TAFE
I am an Australian senior, keen to stave off the vargaries of old age by taking a TAFE course to keep the brain cells active (and therefore save the government having to contribute to my future health costs).
Having taken a course in the TAFE system previously, I went to enrol in beginners Mandarin at Holmesglen and was shocked to find that fees had increased from $105 to a whopping $1400 plus admin costs.
If you wanted to pay this by a payment plan organised by a third party outside the TAFE system, this also involved extra cost.
I had been a volunteer tutor in English at Holmesglen for more than four years but this community service did not cut any ice — they still wanted $1400 plus!
more...Another student lost because she can't afford the fees
I was very disappointed last week when a potential student came to enrol in our Certificate IV course.
She was a newly single mum getting her life back in order and wanted to start a new career in nutrition.
Eager and enthusiastic, she would be perfect for our little class, I thought.
A few questions in, we found out she had completed an advanced certificate in cookery, 17 years ago. Surely this would not count for eligibility, we said. If she had come to us and asked for an RPL (recognition of prior learning) for anything from this course 17 years ago we would have said it was way too old. No currency.
A quick phone call to our student services department quickly found out that we were very wrong and it did count for eligibility. Her healthcare card also could not help her. The course she would have paid $1000 for would now cost her $7000.
more...My TAFE bill: a $4000 slap in the face
I returned to study at TAFE in 2010, enrolling myself in an Advanced Diploma. The fees for my course are $2300 in the first year and $1900 second year. Three years ago the same course would have cost me around $80 a year, under the old concession scheme. The recent changes allowing under 25's access to concession rates, came as a real slap in the face. I am eligible for a Low Income Health Care Card, but there are no concessions available to me as a mature student. My reasons for returning to study are so that I can gain paid employment to better my circumstances, yet I feel discriminated against for doing so.
Despite the option of VET fee help, I am still left with a debt of over $4000, while those only a few years younger than me can pay only $100 for the same course. Why should a 24-year-old be able to pay $100 for an Advanced Diploma, while a 26-year-old in similar circumstances pays $4000? According to the Victorian Government once you are over 25 you're apparently a lost cause. Older students are being penalised for wanting to return to study. Reducing fees for those on low incomes would ensure everyone receives a chance at bettering themselves and their financial situation.
more...First TAFE amendment under the new State Government: where are we now?
The State Government has delivered its first change to the flawed Skills Reform policy and – while the amendment is just the beginning – it's a move in the right direction and positive news for many students.
Let's look at what's changed:
TAFE concession fee rates – for diplomas and advanced diplomas – have been returned for 15–20-year-olds and for 20–24-year-old healthcare card holders eligible for a government supported place. This change reflects a promise made by the Coalition in the election lead-up late last year. It's been honoured early; a surprising move considering it comes before the May 2011 State Budget.
There are some 5000 Victorian students in the under-25 bracket, for whom the speedy change will be very welcome news: instead of a $2000 TAFE bill, they'll pay the reduced rate of $100 for a TAFE diploma or advanced diploma – regardless of any qualifications they already hold.
Of course, this leaves plenty of TAFE students – including women returning to work from parenting commitments, newly arrived migrants and older people retraining to improve their chances of better employment – stuck facing unacceptably high TAFE fees or the option of a major debt.
I met with Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall in December 2010, when he undertook to consider bringing forward the date of July 1 for the return of some concession rates, and I made very clear the need for concession availability to be broadened. He has delivered that in part. He also understands our call to extend the reintroduction of the concession rate to all age groups, but says this depends on more funding being available.
more...My classmates forced to pay upwards of $20,000
For most students the concession rate has increased by between 91 and 118% (I am one of those students affected). I'm a 25-year-old TAFE student with no formal qualifications beyond Year 12 VCE and have chosen to return to study after working various full-time jobs to gain further training and skills. I receive Austudy and hold a government concession card.
Under the current changes to the TAFE fee structure and eligibility to concession rates, I am only afforded a concession rate for one semester of a two-year diploma. This has equated to a saving of only $80 for the first year of my two-year Diploma. In my second year, I will not have access to any concession rates due to the current legislation and "Skills Reform" policy by the former-ALP State Government.
It would seem the reshuffling of the "Skills Reform" has just moved funding around and taken a lot from TAFE instituions. Earlier last year students in receipt of Centrelink payments such as Youth Allowance and Austudy were granted study support payments of approx $650. Upon researching this support payment, the overwhelming majority of TAFE students studying in 2010 were not awarded these payments, yet changes to concession rates made our TAFE fees higher. To me this equates to stealing funding from the TAFE system and awarding undergraduate students studying in degree programs - rather than equality for all students and fair access to support payments.
Many students in my course last year were already planning on not returning for their second year as they hold prior degree qualifications and thus will be forced to pay upwards of $20,000 for a diploma qualification.
New year: new drive to stop the TAFE fee hikes
![Stop tafe fees [stop tafe fees.jpg]](pics/stop_tafe_fees.jpg "Stop tafe fees [stop tafe fees.jpg]")
– Posted by Annette Trevitt
Email TAFE4All if you want a Stop TAFE fee hikes bumper sticker mailed to you!
more...What you achieved with TAFE4All in 2010 - and what we're still fighting for in 2011
To get all John Lennon for a minute, "So this is Christmas, and what have we done?"
Frankly, TAFE4All campaigners, we've done a huge amount. By no means is the fight over, but we've come a long way since we first began telling the public – and the government – more than two years ago that we do not accept the Victorian TAFE changes.
Hiked fees? No way. HECS debts? No thanks. TAFE teachers losing jobs as TAFEs lose students? Not good enough.
The State Government has now changed hands and though education was, on the whole, sorely lacking from any Coalition policy talk in the election lead-up, the party did make one very important announcement. It was clearly targeting what you, the TAFE4All campaigners, have been calling for: The Liberal/National Coalition will reintroduce concession fees for diploma and advanced diploma students.
"At last our message is getting through at the highest levels," declared AEU Victorian deputy secretary Gillian Robertson, on the TAFE4All website, describing the announcement as "a major win for our campaign, which has fought since the beginning for the reintroduction of concessions".
The Coalition also pledged action to help students who already have a diploma or higher to gain further TAFE qualifications, by doubling the funding for exemptions from paying full fees for the next four years.
These are big promises and important steps towards undoing the damage introduced by the TAFE changes – the damage TAFE4All campaigners have consistently highlighted by protesting and writing letters to MPs, and at TAFE4All.org.au, the Facebook page and on Twitter.
So, thank you.
Our work now lies in holding the Coalition to its word and to make sure these steps are just the beginning. Remember there will be a major review of the skills reform in 2012. Our success in rolling back some of these reforms was boosted by you sending almost 400 submissions to the interim review in June and more than 700 e-lobbies to MPs in the months leading up to the 2010 state election.
Get your stories ready to share with us and your loud voices ready to call for fair access to education. The TAFE4All campaign will continue as strong as ever in 2011: stay with the fight.
Anna @ the TAFE4All team
info@tafe4all.org.au
Clever country my foot
The TAFE system is rigorously audited to ensure it delivers quality education and training. Who is auditing the proliferation of over 1300 private providers that have sprung up to ensure their quality?
I teach on an Adult Migrant English Program at NMIT. Recently two girls who are in level 3 of the Certificate of Spoken and Written English told their teacher they could not attend class for three weeks. When asked why they replied that they were doing a Certificate 3 Childcare course but that they would finish the written work and return.
The teacher was particularly interested as the two girls did not have what is termed "functional" English. She was amazed at the information and was even more amazed to find that the academic section of the course went for three weeks and was by correspondence, through a company that normally delivers automotive courses. There was no teacher contact; however, if the girls needed any support with an assignment they could go to the Footscray library! The girls then had to find their own placement to complete the course.
NMIT offers some childcare modules from Certificate 3 with ESL support over a 12-month period and the students can then complete the course with the Childcare Department at NMIT the following year. The girls mentioned were not at the required standard for this course.
Will this lead to a clever country? I doubt it. It could lead to lower standards in childcare centres. The only clever thing about this story is the company which is exploiting these girls and the government for some quick cash.
more...Why I've decided to leave TAFE
I started teaching at TAFE five years ago. I enjoyed teaching and was exceptionally passionate about changing the lives of my students.
I had invested considerable time into developing my teaching practice through a VET Diploma and TAA Diploma, not to mention personal expense buying industry tools to teach with. I had ambition to become a leader at my institute.
I have sat back and watched Minister Jacinta Allan absolutely butcher an already under-funded TAFE system. Within 12 months of the skills reform policy being implemented I have witnessed a big decline in students in my department.
Next year I am faced with now delivering all of my courses with delivery hours slashed by 30% in an effort to make my courses cost effective, because we are burdened with a ratio of one manager/admin to five teacher ratio at my institute.
I'm still only 42 years of age and have decided to leave the TAFE system because there is absolutely no future in it. I had a full-time ongoing contract. It's just not worth the workload stress.
Coalition pledge - another win for our campaign
At last our message is getting through at the highest levels. The Liberal National Coalition announced today that if it wins government on Saturday it will reintroduce concession fee places for diploma and advanced diploma students.
Supporters of the TAFE 4 All campaign know our most needy students have found the huge cost of enrolling in diploma courses to be a major barrier to a TAFE education. They cannot afford the fees up front and many are averse to taking out the huge loans on offer.
Under the Coalition's plan, health care card holders would pay just $100 to enrol for a diploma or advanced diploma — not the hefty $2000 currently imposed on them by the Brumby Government's Skills Reform.
This is a major win for our campaign, which has fought since the beginning for the reintroduction of concessions. The Brumby Government is now totally isolated on this issue.
The number of students studying at diploma and advance diploma level has plummeted since the reforms — you know this better than anyone. This proposal will again make vocational training accessible to low income students.
more...A bit of rain can't stop TAFE4All student protesters
![Picture 004 [picture 004.jpg]](pics/picture_004.jpg "Picture 004 [picture 004.jpg]")
Update from the frontline
At the beginning of this pro action campaign, I flailed my arms and bleated on to anyone I could make listen to me, trying to explain the long term ramifications of the Brumby Governments' TAFE reforms. Predictions were made of diminishing enrolments, mass exiting once the first invoices were recieved and a long-term prediction of the elimination of Visual Art programs.
Many who listened thought I was being a tad hysterical. But in this and the forthcoming weeks, prepare to hear even MORE stories of in accessibility for deeper learning as those who are finishing their diplomas when they got in on the old fee scheme, got to access their degree, and find out they will be full-fee paying students, that the VET FEE changes are as flawed as we've been saying, that the information given to students regarding WHO can access VET FEE HELP is difficult to navigate until you are in the process, and being denied for one reason or another.
I am in year one of a Diploma of Visual Arts and have had to pay full fees this year, despite being the recipient of a pension. No concessions. Those at my school finishing their diploma this week are now trying to apply for their degree, having assumed they would qualify for VET FEE HELP only to find out, in NOVEMBER, that they do not qualify.
Which leads me onto another one of my hysterical predictions. This week my school has decided that due to low enrolments in Diploma of Visual Arts, a situation that has been acknowledged as being a bi product of so called TAFE reforms, they would deal with the low enrolments by ELIMINATING the Diploma of Visual Arts from the curriculum, beginning 2012!! The College will no longer offer a diploma for this course after we have finished our second and final year.
My prediction at the beginning of this campaign that these reforms would slowly erode access to the arts, particularly in my area of Geelong/Surfcoast Shires, has proven true.
I feel Victorians haven't got a clue as to just how insidious these reforms are, and how they areeroding a community culture that has been secure for so many years.
I feel, just like the second year diploma students who are only NOW feeling the impact of these changes as they try to progress in their education and have to look at travelling to Melbourne or Ballarat OR moving interstate to continue their education, that the community has been blindsided about the impact of these reforms and has no idea how it will affect them, regardless of whether they even go to TAFE (for this has more far-reaching effects than just for students).
more...Greens show support for TAFE4All campaign
The Greens and I fully support the TAFE4All campaign.
I support increasing the amount of money spent on TAFE – I don't support making TAFE user-pays.
TAFE enables people to gain skills to get jobs; we shouldn't be discouraging students from attending TAFE by increasing fees. There are reports of this unfortunately already happening.
The Greens want to phase out TAFE fees completely in the long term. The first step would be to cut the TAFE fees back to what they were before and re-introduce concession fees. People sometimes say how we can afford to keep TAFE fees low. My answer is that the more people are educated the more likely they will be employed (and hence pay taxes) and less likely they will rely on welfare (which costs government money).
So, why not prevent a problem – in this case, unemployment in the first place – by encouraging people to further their education.
If I was elected I would, along with other Greens members, work towards eliminating the fee increases, having concession fees reintroduced and keeping TAFE adequately funded.
more...Students I know can't afford higher TAFE fees
Most of the students I know are unable to pay HECS and the Victorian Government's skills reform is only discouraging them to get higher education.
We need to take action to stop the increased TAFE fees and the HECS-style loan system, and bring hope for a brighter future for our own education and that of our children.
At my TAFE there is a mature-aged student named Garry, about to finish the Diploma of Community Development. With the increase in TAFE fees he's unsure if he can afford to continue study – this may be the end of the line for his education.
Another student, Rodney, told me, "I am a migrant. I finished my language course this year. I was planning to upgrade my skills in Australia and join the workforce to fulfil my dreams. But since I heard about the new skills reform, I dropped my idea to pursue my higher studies because already everything is hard for me in this new world. I am dependent on Centrelink. So this policy is causing financial hardship for me."
Everyone has the right to education.
more...TAFE is for ALL of us
![3 [3.jpg]](pics/3.jpg "3 [3.jpg]")
TAFE4All students with Greens candidate Matthew Kirwan
more...The reform's problems aren't solved yet
The steps taken by the State Government to increase TAFE fees will affect not only the people of today but future generations if necessary actions are not taken. TAFE students and TAFE4All supporters have intervened and campaigned to bring some changes to the skills reform, but the problems created by the reform are yet to be solved.
Here are some recent student reactions to the TAFE fee increases:
John: "I'm 42. I wanted to go to university, but it's too expensive so I was relying on TAFE. I liked that both my children and I could study. But now with the introduction of the fees and loan I don't think there is a chance for retraining people. I would just say, go campaigners; speak up in support of a fair go for affordable education for everyone."
Kathy Mc: "Getting rid of concessions is not a good decision the government has made. With concession cards abolished, many unemployed persons living in poverty will not be able to access TAFE courses. With concession cards, it was an advantage for some disadvantaged women to go to TAFE but with the new system that the government has imposed, abolishing concession cards creates a barrier for those women who want to continue their studies."
more...These fixes still leave TAFE vulnerable
The $37.6 million committed by the Brumby Government to address some of the worst aspects of its skills reform — ones that the TAFE4ALL campaign has predicted and campaigned on for over 18 months — will not address all the issues students and TAFEs are facing.
The freezing of apprentice fees and the opening up of government-supported places to all apprentices until 2012 are welcome. So too is the extra funding to support teachers and VET practitioners in undertaking the Certificate IV Training and Assessment qualification.
The doubling of the number of TAFE fee exemptions is a positive move as well — even if it does suggest a recognition that the fee hikes were affecting student enrolments.
However these reforms need to go further to undo the damage the skills reform policy has done to TAFEs. At this stage there is no commitment from government to extend the freeze on apprentice fees and eligibility beyond 2012.
Trainees and students undertaking certificate, diploma and advanced diploma programs will still pay more as the 2011 fee structures are introduced.
Eligibility for government-supported positions for people aged over 20 (other than apprentices) has not changed. Some will still face fees of up to $10,000 per year.
The Ernst & Young review team found that the reforms had led to reduced enrolments at more than half the TAFEs surveyed. Time will tell whether the increase in exemptions will address this.
more...Win for TAFE4All campaign: $37.6 million put towards fixing Skills Reform
The lobbying of the TAFE4All campaign against the Victorian Government's Skills Reform has resulted in significant policy amendments announced today.
The pressure from the TAFE4All campaign, driven by the hundreds or students and teachers who have spoken up in this campaign to say the TAFE changes are unfair, has seen the government commit to spending $37.6 million to undo some of the damage caused by the changes.
The government has more than doubled the number of TAFE fee exemptions – evidence that it knows a substantial number of people can't afford the increases.
Other changes include:
- $15 million towards apprentice training, quarantining them against the higher fees regardless of prior qualifications; however, only in 2011 and 2012, which is insufficient certainty for apprentices and employers. We will continue to campaign for this to be increased beyond 2012.
- $2.6 million dollars will exempt teachers from increased fees for Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment
- any certificates obtained in school-based courses will not count against the student ever
The review admits the majority of Victorian TAFEs have experienced reduced enrolments as a result of the reform.
more...Will yours be TAFE4All e-lobby # 500?
The TAFE4ALL e-lobbies are sitting at 498 - that means 498 Members of Parliament have received the message that you do not support increased TAFE fees, and education made harder to access and restricted to only those with the money to pay for course costs now reaching, in some cases, higher than $20,000.
Have you sent your message of protest?
"The government should be supporting TAFE institutes, not undermining their capacity to be able to deliver a world recognised level of education," said one e-lobby.
"The Government is forcing TAFE to increase class sizes and fees to low income apprentices ... It seems to me this Government is trying to get rid of TAFE and hand everything over to private providers who are turning out unskilled workers while making big profits with a tick and flick attitude to students," said another.
Make your voice the 500th to let a Victorian MP know that making TAFE unafforable is unacceptable.
Send your message now - and remember, in this lead up to the November State Election your voice is as powerful as ever.
more...Keating speaks up for the TAFE cause
Our calls for the Victorian Government to roll back the TAFE changes have been picked up by former prime minister Paul Keating in a withering attack on the fee hikes.
Keating, speaking at a TAFE function quoted in The Age, warned that the imposition of full fees for workers who want to retrain or change career are particularly unfair and risky for the economy.
''Someone who has been forced by retrenchment to retrain, or chooses to pursue a new career pathway and needs to undertake a diploma should be able to undertake this with the same level of government support as those attaining a new or higher qualification,'' Keating said.
''A case can be made for the equitable treatment of those whose ambitions are to retrain.
''Equal opportunity should be given to those responding to changes in the workforce, seeking to step sideways or even taking a step back before they take a step forward.''
more...Stand up for fair TAFE fees
![IMGP1262 [imgp1262.jpg]](pics/imgp1262.jpg "IMGP1262 [imgp1262.jpg]")
Send an e-lobby now to let your local MP know you want fair TAFE fees for ALL.
more...TAFE's sad day
TAFE students aren’t the only ones losing out as a result of hiked TAFE fees – teachers are falling victim to redundancies as student enrolments dwindle.
NMIT land management and conservation teacher Sebastian Buckingham was recently made redundant. "Due to the State Government's Skill Reform, enrolments across the institute and in particular this department are well down," agriculture and animal science department head Phil Tripp is said to have told land management students. (Whittlesea Leader)
The Brumby Government's controversial reforms have dramatically ramped up fees, removed the rights to concessions for thousands of low-income students and introduced HECS-style loans.
"It's a sad day for TAFE," said AEU TAFE vice president Jo Fogarty. "The AEU feared from the beginning that redundancies would be the outcome of the TAFE changes — and now it's becoming a reality."
Regional TAFEs are the hardest hit. The University of Ballarat TAFE has already commenced the redundancy process, and Holmesglen, Bendigo, Box Hill, South West and Northern TAFEs are all showing concern about how much longer they can avoid the same fate.
more...Don't disadvantage the disadvantaged
![IMGP1240 [imgp1240 1.jpg]](pics/imgp1240_1.jpg "IMGP1240 [imgp1240 1.jpg]")
If "don't disadvantage the disadvantaged" is a message you agree with, pass it on to your local MP today!
more...What TAFE means to me
TAFE is a place that provides so much more than an education.
It's where friendships are born.
It's where networks are created
It provides people with a dream of gaining meaningful employment and the hope that they will one day be able to improve their lives.
The Government has significantly increased TAFE fees and abolished concession prices.
TAFE is no longer a place of hopes and dreams.
It's become an exclusive business.
Only those who can afford it are able to attend.
The rest of us are forced to make do with an existence, instead of a life.
Trapped at home with housework.
No opportunity to give birth to friendships.
No opportunity to create networks.
No qualifications to offer prospective employers.
We need to act now!
more...How to stop traffic - TAFE4All-style
Talk about people power: not only did the human and car traffic stop, honk or yell in support at yesterday’s TAFE4All protest, but the large group of TAFE students from Dandenong, chanting "No HECS for TAFE; fair fees for all”, also drew the attention of prominent state members of parliament who joined the protest.
Colleen Hartland and Sue Pennicuik from the Greens, Peter Hall from the Nationals and Brad Battin from the Liberals joined in the TAFE4All rally at Parliament House, leaving the Labor Party as the party not to show up.
In a rare agreement, both the Greens and the Coalition expressed their view that increased TAFE fees, reduced eligibility for government-supported TAFE places and the abolition of TAFE concession fees were simply unfair.
Sue Pennicuik said the Greens' policy is no fees in TAFE: "I don’t accept the argument that increasing fees and making people pay such exorbitant costs will make it easier to get educated – it’s just not logical," she said.
Peter Hall said the Coalition is against the TAFE changes: "I think it’s absolutely ridiculous that the Government wants more people to access training and get educated but in order to do this they’ve increased the fees," he said.
more...Dandenong TAFE students to be congratulated after huge rally at Parliament House
![IMGP1232 [imgp1232.jpg]](pics/imgp1232.jpg "IMGP1232 [imgp1232.jpg]")
TAFE student Vas and his family at the TAFE4All rally at parliament steps today. What a day!!
Check out all the photos at the TAFE4All Facebook page - and remember to "like" the group so you catch all our updates.
more...Dandenong TAFE students rally today!
![tafe4all dandenong august [tafe4all dandenong august.jpg]](pics/tafe4all_dandenong_august.jpg "tafe4all dandenong august [tafe4all dandenong august.jpg]")
At 12noon today TAFE students from Dandenong take their message to the steps of Parliament House that increasing their TAFE fees is NOT ON. Join the action - look for the TAFE4All t-shirts!
more...Over 140 e-lobbies already sent!
Over 140 e-lobbies have been sent to local members - this is great work! Now let's aim for four times that number.
Haven't sent your e-lobby yet? Click here.
And if you have sent it, pass this information on! The e-lobby we've set up makes it easy to email your local MP directly. Let them know you believe in fair access to TAFE for ALL Victorians, not just those with money, and that it's an issue you're prepared to vote for.
Sending the e-lobby is easy: type in your postcode and your local MP's name and email address will appear. Type the MP's name at the beginning of the email, and your name at the end – then click send.
Remember you can edit the email to add your own message about the TAFE changes, and how they've affected you or someone you know. Your stories have more power than the template alone.
more...How will you stand up for fair access to education?
Is fair access to TAFE for ALL Victorians, not just those with money, an issue you're prepared to vote for? Then it's time to let our politicians know it.
Care about TAFEs? Email your local MP now.
1) Type in your postcode. Your local MP's name and email address will appear.
2) Add the MP's name at the beginning of the email, and your name at the end – then click send!
You can change the email to add your own message about the TAFE changes, and how they've affected you or someone you know. The more personal the email the more impact it has, so take the time to add your own two cents' worth. Then encourage others to do the same.
In the lead-up to the State Election, there is no better time to let the State Government know its TAFE changes are unacceptable, and that fair access to education is an issue that could decide our vote.
more...Higher fees create a sub-class of employees
My disabled daughter has been directly impacted by the TAFE changes. She has completed a traineeship at Certificate III and now has been told she has no longer a job with her employer who has cleverly sold on his business and taken all incentives for her with no obligation to her future in the fast food outlet.
She is now faced with unemployment or having to pay full fees for a Certificate IV with no concession available! NOT much of a future career choice for a 24 year old.
Think again Skills Victoria: there are a great many young people in this situation, particularly those of a low socio-economic status.
My daughter has a good study and training history with NMIT, her preferred TAFE, and she now has to try to navigate the training sector herself to find what she can afford. This is an impossible task for someone with an intellectual impairment and there is no guarantee that her new provider will have the capacity to manage her disability and support her.
She has no prospect of future employment without the necessary bit of paper.
more...My TAFE fees jumped AND I lost my concession rate
I'm currently completing my Advanced Diploma in Marketing at RMIT in Melbourne. This past semester gone my fees were $979 for the semester, after a $170 carry-over from the previous year, as I had been overcharged. Therefore, my fees totalled $1,149 - $200 more expensive than last year.
In addition to the increased cost of a TAFE education the discount provided to those students with a healthcare card was abolished. This meant that the students, like myself, that were recognised by the government as needing financial support were no longer able to receive a discount on their TAFE fees.
I have enrolled in this course as an ulterior path to get into university, which is a common path students take. University students have the option of having a commonwealth funded place in order to undertake their studies. However, there is no such system for TAFE students. I believe my education is just as important and valid as those going straight into a university course, and I find it unfair that we should not gain equivalent support that university students have access to.
Although I understand that there is a significant difference in the cost of a university education as opposed to TAFE, I still feel that expecting full-time TAFE students - in my situation studying 22 hours a week - to fund their education as well as their basic lifestyle to be unreasonable.
more...Back it up: turn around TAFE fee hikes
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Your chance to ask the questions
If you're on the TAFE4All website it's because you care about equal and fair access to public education – for ALL.
The Australian Education Union is holding three public forums to highlight public education as a crucial issue in the federal election.
Each forum will be addressed by AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos and candidates from the Labor, Liberal and Green parties. There will also be time for Q&A.
The forums are open to all members of the community and children are welcome. Forums run from 4.30–6.00pm.
- August 3: Ringwood Secondary College, Bedford Road, Ringwood. For more information or to RSVP contact Julie Lynch at julie.lynch@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 9417 2822.
- August 4: Grovedale Primary School Multi-Purpose Room, 143 Bailey St, Grovedale. RSVP by July 30 to Denise Civelli at denise.civelli@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 5222 6633.
- August 5: The Lakes South Morang P-9 School, Administration Building, 80 Jardier Terrace, South Morang. RSVP by July 30 to Ann Dettenberg at ann.dettenberg@aeuvic.asn.au or on (03) 9417 2822.
The AEU's Public Education Campaign is based on one fact: public schools have a vital role in ensuring every child gets a high quality education.
But they are under-resourced. Teachers and parents are joining together to convince the Federal Government to invest more in our public schools.
more...TAFE changes ill-advised
I am a secondary teacher at public school in outer eastern Melbourne. Many of the students at my school are not from wealthy backgrounds, and our school offers a number of VET-based courses as part of its senior school subjects.
I worry that our students are undertaking a subject such as VET Music or VET IT as a sixth subject at VCE without understanding how this might affect them in the future. If after they are 20 years old they decide they need to undertake vocationally orientated education, they will face a massively increased level of fees due to the fact they already have a Certificate 1 or 2 level qualification after doing the VET subjects back in high school.
The government has made virtually no effort to educate staff or students about the impacts of these changes and instead has sought to cover up or play down the impact this will have on the future options of students, particularly those from poorer backgrounds.
On a secondary note, I am personally affected by these changes. If I wanted to get my Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment to allow me to teach outside of schools, I would now face fees of thousands of dollars. This is a path many teachers have taken before me which I am now unlikely to pursue. This is a Certificate that I am meant to obtain if I teach VET subjects at school.
I believe that the impact of the TAFE changes has been ill thought through in relation to effects on both the teaching and the undertaking of VET subjects in secondary schools.
I also believe that the changes are very ill-advised in that they undermine our proud record of publicly funded TAFEs in Victoria.
more...Thousands of dollars for a Diploma of Community Welfare - who is that helping?
I enrolled for a Diploma of Community Welfare and was told that the course would cost me around $200.
After finally getting the invoice, I was informed that I would have to pay around $13,000 per year.
I was lucky enough to receive the government discount with having no previous education; however, I was still left with $2,148 to pay within days when I was of the knowledge that I would only have to pay $200.
I am a single mother looking to be educated so that I can return to work with qualifications and improve my current status for the benefit of me, my children and the government - ie by getting off welfare! I am now in debt and not eligible for VET FEE help either.
I am doing all I can to reskill and gain employment, however I do not have a disposable income and I am going to struggle to find the money for my second year. Please reverse this hike in fees and make TAFE accessible! – to all and especially us single mothers who are raising our children on fresh air.
more...Who decided career planning was a linear progression?
I'm very concerned about the increase in students deferring after Year 12 because they need to work to survive to pay for their education and mounting HECS debt. Non completion is a real issue young people are facing under this system.
When did education become a privilege in this country rather than a democratic right under the constitution?
The most impact for schools and TAFEs is that, on the one hand we have a federal government policy under COAG and the National Youth Attainment and Transition programs to keep young people engaged and connected with training. Yet we have a State Government policy that is encouraging exactly the opposite. These are mixed messages – let's get it right.
Who decided that career planning was a linear progression? This is not the case and never has been!
We now have a situation where we counsel youth to stay at school until year 12, then find training in one area only, then pay full fees for further training if your skill sets don't quite match what your employer needs – if you are lucky enough to find full time ongoing employment with your one certifcate. Under this policy choice comes at a high price: the future career development of our youth, their futures and ultimately all our futures.
This policy makes a mockery of the COAG agenda and forces the most vulnerable people into impossible study and training choices, without support.
more...23 and forced to get a credit card to pay for TAFE
My name is Oliver Scott and I am studying Marketing at RMIT (City Campus). I am 23 years old and live with two of my four brothers in Chadstone.
After successfully completing an advanced diploma in sound and audio engineering I was not satisfied that audio engineering was the direction I wanted to head in life, so I began looking for another course to study something completely different. I had the choice between university and TAFE but chose TAFE for numerous reasons – the most important was the cost! Being an independent student, living out of home, paying rent and relying on my Youth Allowance of $450 a fortnight, the cheapest option was going to be the most viable one. My first and second semesters' fees were $50 as I had a healthcare card and was therefore eligible for government help.
Everything was looking good until the Government decided to change its laws and I received a $1200 invoice for 2nd year, Semester 1. This came as quite a shock to me so I did not have sufficient time to manage my finances in order to put money aside each fortnight to pay for it. It put me under a lot of stress and worry, so much that I almost dropped out.
I had to get a credit card so that I could pay the outstanding amount because I would not be allowed to start the next semester until all outstanding debts had been paid. I now have the added stress of trying to squeeze money from my budget to pay my credit card off. I felt there was insufficient warning about the changes the Government was going to make and I don't understand why they made them.
more...Having to tell students to lower their sights
At my high school we are considering advising students to lower their sights, and take a Certificate 3 or 4 course so they don't burden themselves with debt later on.
We advise over 750 VCE students per year and we have not had all the TAFE changes fully explained to us. There are negative effects on the students and their pathways as we cannot properly advise them.
It is very hard for young people at that age to make decisions like that; many of them don't really know what they want to do in life and VET courses are a way of trying options out.
The advice we are giving students about their choices – given that for many the decision to pursue VET at Diploma level is now a once-only choice – is critical. If they change their minds they will have to pay full fees for the second bite of the cherry.
more...Everyone loses when TAFE is just a money-making venture
Turning TAFE into a money-making venture makes it cut-throat and reduces what we are willing to give to students. Because we now have to think about the bottom line, we actually start thinking about what we can take away from the students and considering what corners can be cut.
The TAFE changes mean that our TAFE has brought in more middle managers and then cut sector coordinator and teaching positions.
Our TAFE program has made money yearly, but because it doesn't make "enough" money, it is borderline unviable and possibly on its way out. The government would like us to cut back on face-to-face student contact hours and the amount of time spent in the field. Better yet, cut out the program for Certificate I and II altogether and only provide auspicing for those already working in the industry.
Is the government funding education or only successful educational businesses?
more...Labor government gone right, doing TAFE wrong
In a class at TAFE today, we were discussing the concept of Labor and Liberal governments changing their format, leaning to the left or the right. I was asked to give an example of my suggestion that the Victorian State Government is leaning to the right. I gave the TAFE reforms as my example. I argued the same argument I've plastered on the TAFE4All Facebook site and pages to the editors in newspapers.
In a class that started out at the beginning of the year with 20 students, now down to 10, there was no understanding of the TAFE reforms, what they meant for the students, what it meant for the future etc.
Despite my teacher agreeing personally with my argument, she informed me that the private reviews already done on the City of Greater Geelong have shown that the reforms have not affected enrolments and this was passed on to the State Government's review. I explained that enrolments are not a sign of whether the reforms don't affect student numbers because enrolment is easy. The new system affected the people in charge of enrolments - they were new to the system and many of us got accepted and enrolled, and LATER informed that we did NOT qualify for fee help.
more...TAFE4All on the road
![ed elston [ed elston.jpg]](pics/ed_elston.jpg "ed elston [ed elston.jpg]")
— Posted by Edward Elston
Fees for my course up from $800 to $8000
I am both a part-time teacher and a part-time student in a TAFE course. I am also a writer (of fiction, non fiction and journalism) and an occasional ABC arts broadcaster, so I am critically aware of the importance of supporting arts education in order to nurture the local arts industry.
more...Government keeping us in the dark
State government ministers are not giving me answers. They're not even listening to my questions.
more...Bump TAFE fee hikes
![bumper-sticker [bumper sticker 2.jpg]](pics/bumper_sticker_2.jpg "bumper-sticker [bumper sticker 2.jpg]")
— Posted by Brett, Melbourne
TAFE reforms a disaster: Bendigo Advertiser opinion piece
The Brumby Government should be returned to office. But Jacinta Allan, member for Bendigo East, should be defeated in her seat.
more...Lowest staff morale yet: TAFE4All goes regional
The TAFE4All campaign hit the road again this month – with the media following (check out newspaper coverage from one visit here and here).
more...Life-long learning will be a thing of the past
I have always been very proud that Australia has supported the idea that everybody is a lifelong learner. We live fulfilled lives because of the knowledge we gain along the way.
more...TAFE4All campaign on the streets
— Posted by Jill Biddington
Vic TAFE fees? I'm at a NSW TAFE now!
I wanted to do a Diploma of Visual Art at a regional Victorian TAFE; however, once I found out how much it was going to cost, I didn't even go to the interview that had been set up.
more...Read the ute: STOP the fee hikes
![Bumper2 Small [bumper2 small.jpg]](pics/bumper2_small.jpg "Bumper2 Small [bumper2 small.jpg]")
— Posted by Georges Bernard, Victoria
AEU's submission to TAFE review: damaging reforms must be revoked
Roll back the fee rises, change the eligibility criteria and return concessions for low income students, and improve funding for high quality training providers: these are the calls the Australian Education Union has made in its nine-page submission to the review into the Victorian Government's TAFE changes.
more...My message: Stop TAFE fee hikes
![bike fiona [bike fiona.jpg]](pics/bike_fiona.jpg "bike fiona [bike fiona.jpg]")
— Posted by Fiona Darling
Email us if you want a "Stop TAFE fee hike" sticker for your bike/car.
more...Brumby can't ignore 100s of submissions to TAFE review
When hundreds of people share stories that all paint the same picture, how can anyone ignore it?
more...Last chance to save TAFE - review ends Sunday
What’s the point of creating new training spaces if people can’t afford to fill them?
more...Only six days to save TAFE - keep speaking up
More than 160 of you have put your voice to the Victorian Government's review of the TAFE changes - are you one of them?
Two weeks to save TAFE - we must act now
This is the crunch point for the future of TAFE in Victoria – time to make your voice heard.
more...My TAFE invoice: $5000 - and this is a skills "reform"?
I was originally accepted to study a TAFE diploma in a subsidised place for 2009.
more...TAFE changes' negative repercussions for Indigenous learners
I’m a trainer and course convenor in Indigenous programs at a metropolitan TAFE.
more...Back off fee hikes
![TAFE Sticker [tafe sticker.jpg]](pics/tafe_sticker.jpg "TAFE Sticker [tafe sticker.jpg]")
— Posted by Karen, Melbourne
To have "Stop TAFE fee hikes" stickers mailed to you, email us!
more...How to damage generational aspirations
From where I sit, the massive TAFE fee hikes have excluded a lot of parents from returning to study.
more...Education should be for all
As a social worker, it is amazing what I've seen people do when given the support to grow and prosper.
more...I'm one of the first hit with new TAFE fees
I am part of the group of first students to pay these ridiculous fees. I would be the lucky one, only paying $6000 for a two-year Diploma at a well known TAFE.
more...Riding the message home
![anna bike cropped [anna bike cropped gif.gif]](pics/anna_bike_cropped_gif.gif "anna bike cropped [anna bike cropped gif.gif]")
Let us know if you want a "Stop TAFE fee hike" sticker for your bike/car.
— Posted by Anna Kelsey-Sugg
more...Give back the opportunity to re-skill, Mr Brumby
The complex fee system borne of the Brumby Government's TAFE Reforms makes it very difficult for Victorians to be informed about who is being impacted by these increased TAFE fees and how.
more...Pressure up on government as media hits hard over TAFE
TAFE4All campaigners - you are to be congratulated.
more...Stories set alarm bells ringing
What a fantastic turnout in Ballarat yesterday - dozens of students, a great media turn-out and some very engaged AEU members telling their stories of how the TAFE changes are affecting them.
more...Why I fear for my students' course
The AEU launches the regional results of its survey of TAFE teachers in Ballarat today. Here, one member talks about the impact of the TAFE changes on his course.
more...TAFE4All survey results prove fears a reality
Now, more than ever, it is clear the TAFE changes need be revoked.
more...Government's TAFE "reforms" haven't reformed a thing
The government’s ‘skills reforms’ are not achieving what they hoped.
more...What about the workers?
While state governments seem to be doing their utmost to attack TAFE teachers and employees, there is a broader social issue that all should consider: the impacts of changes on existing and potential workers who are being disadvantaged by the Government's long-term under-funding of TAFE.
more...Pushing the TAFE4All message
![margie bike sticker [margie bike sticker.jpg]](pics/margie_bike_sticker.jpg "margie bike sticker [margie bike sticker.jpg]")
— Posted by Margie Frye
more...TAFE4All campaign focuses on the review of changes
As the TAFE4All campaign gears up towards a review of the Victorian Government's TAFE changes, the campaign continues to gain momentum in 2010, fighting to return TAFE education to the hands of all Victorian students - not just those who can afford increased fees.
more...Higher fees have halved our enrolments
Brumby Government spokespeople still equate "Skill Reform" with "increased training places" and "encouraging people to take up Vocational Education and Training".
more...Where you can stick the TAFE fee hikes
![tafe bumpersticker [tafe bumpersticker.jpg]](pics/tafe_bumpersticker.jpg "tafe bumpersticker [tafe bumpersticker.jpg]")
Have you got a car or bike? Then email your postal address to Anna to grab your free "Stop TAFE fee hikes" bumper sticker and show your support for affordable, quality TAFE education.
THEN, send us a photo of where you've proudly displayed your sticker and we'll publish it here at the TAFE4All website. Let people know you don't support increased TAFE fees and abolished study concessions - AND make your car/bike famous. You can't lose.
— Posted by Anna Kelsey-Sugg
more...HECS in TAFE - a single mother's perspective
Ongoing pressure and lack of confidence and finance are just some of the barriers faced by many single mothers wanting to return to study, and wanting to provide our children with opportunities.
more...New video: don't mess up our TAFEs!
Check out our new TAFE 4 All video on the difference between public and private for TAFE students.
more...Making TAFEs work or making them worse?
The new Brumby ‘skills reform' is bad education policy. It is meant to make the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector more ‘efficient' (read 'competitive'). But changing the education system into a money-making exercise is bad for students and eventually bad for our society.
more...Why the arts will suffer under TAFE changes
Premier Brumby has been on a bit of a rampage in the last year, killing off our art with legislation that stabs at the heart of Melbourne's thriving art scene by abolishing government-funded places for TAFE students.
more...A new year and new voices for the TAFE4All campaign
My name is Jo Fogarty and I'm the new vice president for TAFE at the Australian Education Union. Let me say first of all that I wish everyone a healthy, happy and fulfilling 2010.
more...Thanks from TAFE4All - and stay tuned!
THANK YOU from all of us here at the TAFE4All campaign. As students, teachers, parents and concerned community members you have joined TAFE4All to stand up for what is fair.
more...Speaking up for my friends and for a fair go
The decision to increase the TAFE fees will mean that more people will have less say over how they live their lives.
more...Imagine life without study - I'm being forced to
I have been a TAFE student for about six years now - four years part-time and one year full-time - studying Aged Care and Home and Community Care (Cert 3) and now Professional Writing and Editing (Cert 4).
more...Expect rise in mental health issues and drain on government's purse
We are concerned as Career Facilitators about the advice that we are giving our young people....and our own sons and daughters.
more...I don't want to take dollars from the family food budget
Has the government thought about this? What about women who are trying to return to work from being a parent? Women who are trying to retrain after having children?
more...My job: to burst students' bubble
I work in a TAFE assisting mature learners and sole parents. At this time of the year, I'm flat out meeting with potential students for 2010 to find appropriate course options, and navigate application procedures and help them plan for study including the financial implications.
more...I think our most disadvantaged will suffer
I completed my Diploma of Welfare studies at the Geelong TAFE in 2004. I was a single mother and dependant on welfare payments at the time of my decision to choose this course as a career path.
more...'The choice is yours'? Bloody tough choice now, Minister.
A new brochure from the Victorian Government mailed to careers teachers says their new skills reform policy will bring in TAFE changes, which are great because "the Government will pay up to 90% of your tuition fees for your chosen course if you are eligible."
more...Represent and protect us Jacinta, we'd prefer to sing your praises
Ms Allan, How could you possibly think that we wouldn't work out that TAFE fees are in reality increasing, that all TAFE users (excluding a few) will be disadvantaged by your policy changes?
more...My meeting with the Skills Minister
On Friday 6th November I was one of ten students who met with Minister for Skills Jacinta Allan at her office in Bendigo.
more...Welcome to Jacinta's Bistro
Head Chef: Jacinta Allan
Menu: Beef & Reef (only the best will do!)
Price: $65 (Usually $35)
Ingredients: Flour & Water (nothing else)
Discounts: Pensioners not welcome
Conditions: Customers are advised not to successfully eat the same or a more expensive meal at another bistro or we will charge you a non-loyal client fee of 500%.
My students with disability will lose out
The proposed rises in TAFE fees will cut most of my students out of their preferred courses for next year.
more...The Minister for Skills shirks responsibility
College collapses? Ineffective college auditing? Not my problem, says Victorian Skills Minister Jacinta Allan.
more...Is this really what you want for Victorian students, Minister?
Four more private colleges have just gone to the wall. Thousands of students have been left in limbo, with no idea when or where they'll be able to complete their courses.
more...I can't afford a study loan
I am an independent student living in Bendigo. I didn't complete year 12, instead I started working in a call centre. Today, 5 years later I am still there. I do not really like the work I do, yet I need to be able to support myself.
more...I've already lost students to the new fee structure
Many years ago my grandfather said to me, "You can have all the money in the world, but if you're not happy in what your doing then it's not worth it". Seven years ago, I found what makes me happy. Teaching IT whilst helping others to change their lives.
more...I'm a young single mum and I want a say in where I'm heading
I'm a young single mum studying a certificate in mental health at TAFE. If I had to pay what the government is asking now I wouldn't be able to afford it - I'd just be on parenting payments for a whole lot longer.
more...National TAFE Day - good news needed
Today is National TAFE Day, and I'm up in Canberra, waiting to hear the Deputy Primary Minister Julia Gillard address TAFE representatives and politicians.
more...Just Ask Jacinta - but brace for some creative responses
If you haven't seen it, the Little Paper (Herald Sun) ran an eight-page ‘Victorian Government feature', Skills for Life, on Wednesday. Good on them for promoting TAFEs and the VET system in general.
more...TAFE gave me a career - more HECS would've stopped me
Encumbered already with a HECS debt from a previous degree that wasn't helping me find a job, I began the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT very glad that it wasn't going to put me further out of pocket.
more...Contact the Minister
Jacinta Allan has invited students to get in touch to discuss her changes to the TAFE system. Let's take her up on her offer — you can find her details here.
more...Jacinta misses our big day out - but invites conversation
A hugely successful day in Bendigo today! There were nearly 100 TAFE students at Minister Jacinta Allan's office this morning, chanting "no fee hikes" and carrying backpacks with $2000 bills from the Bank of Jacinta to show the debts students will be left with.
more...We're on our way to Bendigo
TAFE 4 All will be taking the campaign to Bendigo today with a rally outside Jacinta Allan's own electorate office to bring home to the skills minister the human cost of her policies.
more...Wouldn't happen at TAFE: students left in lurch as Geelong college collapses
The pattern is by now well established: dodgy private education provider goes bust; shell-shocked students lose their money and their places; local TAFEs absorb the load.
more...Regular school-leavers who change courses will be stung
The disadvantaged and disengaged young learner is going to be at great risk with the TAFE changes.
more...Minister tries (and fails) to fool angry Victorians
How else can we interpret Skills Minister Jacinta Allan new YouTube post? The video tries to defend the TAFE changes and sugar coats the increased fees and abolished concessions.
more...People will be stopped from taking steps forward
The most exciting thing about a TAFE campus is the diversity of learners.
more...Young people I teach need more opportunities - not more hurdles
Young people I teach need flexibility in education.
As a Youth Worker (8 years) and TAFE Teacher (4 years), in the last couple of years I have interviewed 600 early school leavers under the age of 19.
more...Minister's Waffle for Breakfast
Who heard Jacinta Allan this morning spruiking her government's TAFE changes on ABC breakfast radio?
more...Wake-up call for Jacinta Allan
The wellbeing of young Australians is declining, a new report by the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) has revealed.
more...Sign our TAFE4All petition - now online
Nearly 2000 of you have already signed a hardcopy of the TAFE4All campaign petition to stop the Victorian Government's TAFE changes. This is great - but we're aiming for many more, which is why the petition is now online.
more...TAFE4All takes to the radio
Why is Minister for Skills Jacinta Allan putting TAFE out of reach for her own constituents - some of Victoria's poorest students?
more...TAFE changes scary for low-income families
The community sector knows about the impact of "user pays" on people living on low incomes and we're particularly concerned about user pays in Victorian TAFEs.
more...My son and I are both students - and can't afford a loan
These changes have hit both me and my son. We are both students, and we cannot afford a loan. My son recently completed a Diploma in Sports and Recreation and now he wants to undertake a Diploma of Business, for a better chance at a job.
more...Seeking the truth, not shiny propaganda
If you visit the government's "Skills Reform" website you may be excited by phrases such as ‘new funding to create over 170,000 new training places' or ‘upgrade TAFE facilities' and the one I love most ‘more opportunities for training throughout your adult life and flexible fee arrangements'.
more...International students know folly of Victoria's radical TAFE experiment
Congratulations to all those involved in TAFE4All for all your efforts so far.
So much is at stake in this campaign - not just in Victoria.
more...Shifting the cost of education - onto your shoulders
When we meet students in new secondary schools and TAFEs we are still finding that they are hearing about the changes to TAFE for the first time. They have no idea what's coming - and they are furious.
more...Others won't have the opportunity I had
As a single parent I would not have considered TAFE with such high fees. The Diploma of Welfare has opened so many doors not just for me, but for my children too.
more...Under the changes I would have missed out
Encumbered already with a HECS debt from a previous degree that wasn't helping me find a job, I began the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT very glad that it wasn't going to put me further out of pocket.
more...Download the TAFE4All petition
If there's one thing governments take notice of, it's numbers. Download the TAFE4All petition by cutting and pasting the following url into yourinternet browser: http://tafe4all.org.au/tafe4all_petition.pdf
more...This is my piece of paper
Accessible TAFE is critical to deliver new jobs
TAFEs have an important role as Australia faces the pressing challenge of skills for a growing workforce as well as the transition to a clean energy economy.
more...Folly to risk a national treasure
I've heard whispers about the TAFE fees and am appalled to think what such elevated fees will do to Professional Writing and Editing and the other writing programs. Especially since writing students can't usually look forward to earning a great deal of money on graduation with their new skills.
more...TAFE teachers will walk away
I've been a TAFE teacher for 20 years and I'm personally bewildered by the government's Skills Reform Agenda, and what it means not just for TAFE students, but for TAFE teachers too.
The reforms are an attack on the professionalism of TAFE teachers.
more...Reality hits home
We left Chisholm TAFE yesterday - 280 sausages later! - after meeting lots of young men and women who've already started hearing about the fee increases and abolished concession rates. Young students came along to find out more - and they were listening very intently.
more...Marketisation reforms won't stop here
A hearty congratulations to the AEU for its TAFE4All campaign.
These TAFE changes not only affect TAFE teachers and TAFE professional, administrative, clerical, computing and technical staff, which the NTEU covers - but they have a direct impact in the higher education sector.
Thousands to be shut out of education and training
The ACTU is a supporter of the TAFE 4 All campaign and of the provision of high quality, affordable and accessible training through the TAFE system for all Victorians.
TAFE is a cornerstone of the vocational education and training delivery systems.
more...Under TAFE changes I wouldn't be here
I'm at Gordon Institute in Geelong and I've nearly finished my Diploma of Community Welfare. The course changed my life; through it I've gained skills for life as well as for work.
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It's time for hypocrisy
Wait just a MINUTE.
Is Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard so confused as to not be able to see the lesson in her own message?
She says free education is the way to go - so why is her government supporting the Victoria Government introducing TAFE fees that are now many thousands of dollars?
more...Changing your mind just got a lot more expensive
Have you seen the new uni ads around town? They play on something that everyone seems to know except Jacinta Allan - that choosing a career is a tough call.
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Market approach will fail
The government’s idea that we should all have the entitlement to broader education and training opportunities sounds fair – it is a good thing to have a greater proportion of the population with higher levels of qualifications, and it is a good thing to broaden access to education and training. But we should be asking ourselves what training, and at what price?
more...Study was already difficult - now it's impossible
I come from a family where everyone's on welfare, in an area where everyone's on welfare and I've been trying really hard to get myself educated and out of the welfare system. It's hard work to stay in TAFE and study and pay for food and petrol and parking and books.
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Tough questions for Minister Allan
Did you see the advert in today's editions of the Herald Sun and The Age? We thought it was time to ask the Skills Minister Jacinta Allan directly why TAFE fees are almost tripling for many courses.
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Disabled students shut out by TAFE changes
I applied at Swinburne TAFE in the Diploma of Community Development after completing a leadership program for people with disabilities.
There were between 25 and 30 people doing the leadership program and to my knowledge I'm the only one continuing with education this year. A few people I've spoken with from last year's leadership group say the TAFE fees have really changed their mind with regards to continuing studies.
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Not happy Jacinta: message clear at TAFE4All conference
The TAFE4All conference on Friday 21 August kicked off the second phase of the TAFE 4 All campaign.
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TAFE changes need a serious rethink
Vocational education is an important sector in the community - it's an entry level for a lot of people and the government changes will see a door to education shutting for the people who really need it.
more...What do students say about the TAFE fee hikes?
Here's what:
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Doors close at open day
Open Day at our college was really tough. I met several mature aged potential students who were upset and angry to hear that they would be hit with over $10,000 in fees to re-train for work.
more...Take the TAFE survey
If you're a TAFE student the TAFE 4 All campaign would like to know your views on the Brumby Government's changes to the TAFE system. We are inviting you to complete a short survey - it takes less than five minutes to complete - and your responses will remain strictly confidential.
more...Heading home after a big week on the road
It’s been a big week for TAFE4All, as a week of visiting secondary schools around the state wraps up.
more...Angry public isn't afraid to speak up
Have you joined the TAFE4All Facebook group? If you have you will have seen even more stories from Victorians who are angry and worried about how the government's TAFE changes are affecting their education choices.
more...Secondary teachers riled up over TAFE changes
This week I've been hitting the secondary school campuses to talk to teachers and school staff about the hikes in TAFE fees and the scrapping of concession rates - and I can tell you, they're just as angry about it as the students and teachers I've met on TAFE campuses.
more...Claims of cost free a con job
I'm off to Kurnai College in Morwell today as the next leg of our TAFE 4 All campaign kicks off.
more...Minister Allan's misinformation
Skills Minister Jacinta Allan was pulled up by ABC Goulburn Murray Morning's host Joseph Thomsen for claiming low income earners will pay "zero" dollars for a TAFE diploma, when the changes she's responsible for will see them hit with a bill for $2500.
more...Students stand together against these changes
The Young Unionists' Network stands in solidarity with the AEU, TAFE teachers and students in opposing the Brumby Government's unfair reforms to the TAFE system.
more...Check out the TAFE4All truck
![Mobile billboard [debt truck 1.jpg]](pics/debt_truck_1.jpg "Mobile billboard [debt truck 1.jpg]") |
The TAFE4All mobile billboard is spreading the message across Victoria. Watch out for it on our visits to TAFE campuses in Shepparton, Warrnambool, Geelong, and Wodonga. The truck is out there telling the public what the government won't - that its changes to vocational education and training are going to cost you money. |
Frustration across Victoria
In Bendigo last week I met a 60-year-old woman as disappointed as she was furious.
more...TAFE out of reach
Deciding to quit my job and study writing, at the age of 44, was like stepping out of a plane and going into free-fall - a fantastic but terrifying thrill.
more...Locked out of the workplace
The Brumby Government's changes to the TAFE system will have a devastating impact on mature unemployed people (the over-40s) who are retraining to return to work, people who have been parenting, carers, injured and so-forth.
more...TAFE 4 All on the road
The AEU is on the road, visiting TAFE campuses across Victoria to alert students, staff and community to the Government's fee hikes.
Join us at your nearest campus!
more...Sense of disbelief on campus
I've just come back from central Gippsland and the Newborough TAFE campus, talking to students and teachers about the Government's skills reforms.
more...System we need to protect
Did you know 80% of Victorians are unaware of exactly what the State Government is doing to the TAFE system?
more...Young people told to skill up - but pay more
In a display of incredible hypocrisy the Federal Government has told young people they need to skill up - just as increased Victorian TAFE fees kick in.
more...TAFE is for ALL of us
TAFE4All students with Greens candidate Matthew Kirwan
more...Disillusioned to the point of dropping out
I became so disillusioned with the TAFE fees and system that I did not re-enrol this year.
Instead, I have gone on to do a Bachelor of Writing and Publishing at NMIT where at least I was eligible for FEE-HELP and not discriminated against because of my age (59). If the government wants to have a skilled workforce then they must invest, at both a state and federal level, in both the youth as well as those wishing to change careers.
No longer are we able or willing to remain in the one career all our lives and this needs to be acknowledged and supported by governments and educational institutions; otherwise we risk generations of depression, unskilled workers or people fleeing overseas.
more...Disillusioned to the point of dropping out
I became so disillusioned with the TAFE fees and system that I did not re-enrol this year.
Instead, I have gone on to do a Bachelor of Writing and Publishing at NMIT where at least I was eligible for FEE-HELP and not discriminated against because of my age (59). If the government wants to have a skilled workforce then they must invest, at both a state and federal level, in both the youth as well as those wishing to change careers.
No longer are we able or willing to remain in the one career all our lives and this needs to be acknowledged and supported by governments and educational institutions; otherwise we risk generations of depression, unskilled workers or people fleeing overseas.
more...The state of TAFE - have your say
If you care about the state of our TAFE system, now is your chance to tell the Government why equitable and affordable access to TAFE is so important to you.
On 4 May 2011 the Minister for Higher Education and Skills Peter Hall announced a public inquiry into TAFE fees and funding arrangements. This is the first stage of the State Government's review.
As you know, the AEU and it supporters have campaigned hard over the last few years to raise awareness of the negative consequences of the previous government's Skills Reform agenda.
Now, we are calling on all people who support the public TAFE system to send in their stories of how the new fees and charges have impacted on you, or on your friends and family.
Tell us — and the Victorian Government — what changes you would like to see.
more...Change management or an excuse for bullying?
An emergency meeting was called at the Gordon Institute of TAFE on Tuesday June 21 following serious issues arising from a Leading Teams "change management" session held in the previous week.
AEU members have reported feeling intimidated and bullied when participating in the Leading Teams program, an organisational change model being implemented at the Gordon.
Approximately 98 people attended the emergency meeting, with 10 apologies, which was an amazing response at such short notice. It was obvious that people feel very concerned about their own and others' welfare and wellbeing.
The courage of those who spoke about their experiences, and the support in the room from others as they told their stories, was overwhelming at times.
It is obvious that people at the Gordon care for their colleagues, their profession and their Institute and are concerned about what is happening to people required to participate in this program.
The AEU has tried for the past two years to have the Gordon TAFE's management listen to concerns about the program, but to date they have not responded.
This is a serious issue that is of immense concern to the AEU. We will not let our members be exposed to any form of intimidation or harassment at the workplace.
If you want to discuss this matter, please add your comments below or contact me: greg.barclay@aeuvic.asn.au.
more...Everyone losing out under Skills Reform
Currently I am a program coordinator at a large metro TAFE.
I co-ordinate the delivery of four different courses from Cert IV to Diploma. In 2012 I will have 13 groups of students with an expectation of 25 students per group. Staffing is equivalent to seven EFT staff (including myself), and the institute is insisting delivery be done by 30% sessional staff. This increases the administrative duties to engage and induct each sessional staff member.
Discussion has been raised that staff redundancies may be evident in 2012. Already I have experienced this, as a staff member has taken leave without pay from October 2011 until February 2012 and replacement for that person was not granted. Current staff are expected to pick up the duties of that teacher, sessional staff cover the teaching aspect but all other duties are done by staff available.
This is during the time when prospective applicants are interviewed and enrolled and current students finalised. Compliance with Quality requirements places emphasis on these duties.
Fortunately our teaching hours are set at 730 per year, but the demands from students and their increasing needs mean teachers are constantly providing extra support. Our delivery hours are less than the nominal hours for each unit, creating situations where students need support.
Staffing is calculated on delivery hours and not nominal hours, yet fees are set against nominal hours. Tutorials and individual meetings are timetabled to meet the hours.
In our classes we have students who have paid the highest level of fees sitting beside another student who has paid concessional rates. This anomaly is difficult when demands are made. Although we employ the highest level of sessional teachers from Industry, they only attend on the hours they are teaching and are not available for students for follow-up with concerns. When paying such high fees, students are entitled to better service.
The fees under the Skills Reform has seen us lose high-quality applicants who cannot afford fees. We had to cease a Diploma because of fee costs. We are now introducing a Cert III, as fees will be more accessible for those who have no other qualification, but changes the cohort of students we will be teaching.
Staff will be expected to forgo teaching Diploma units, which they are highly trained to do under Vocational Competency, to teach Cert III. The decision for Cert III is to attract students who otherwise would not be accepted into our Cert IV and create a pathway.
— Posted by Marg
more...VU rallies for TAFE — Tuesday July 24
Tuesday is Celebrate TAFE day at Victoria University. Staff students and community will be standing up for TAFE from midday in the Rotunda of the Footscray Nicholson Street campus. Join them and send the message: No ifs, no buts, no more cuts!
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