The latest planned changes to TAFE NSW will be greeted with trepidation by staff, students and the wider community.
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The NSW government announced the changes on Wednesday with almost the same breathless enthusiasm it had when it started its TAFE reforms a few years ago.
Some of the outcomes were certainly breath-taking: 5000 jobs lost and a massive collapse in the number of students participating in TAFE and Vocational Education and Training.
One set of figures says there were 539,000 students in government-subsidised places in 2012 but only 255,781 in September 2015.
The government, hell-bent on “improving” TAFE, skills training, opportunities for students and outcomes for business and employers, has yet to concede some of its reforms went awry.
The federal government has shown itself to be similarly shy of reality. Some of its reforms to improve VET turned into a mess and cost taxpayers millions at the hands of dodgy private training companies. Many students were left in the lurch.
Canberra would not get a business or management certificate for its work there.
The state government would not top the class for losing so many students.
The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) has reported the number of students enrolled in government-funded vocational education plummeted by 86,300 in the past year.
No distinctions for the government in that course.
The government has moved to allay fears that campuses will be closed as part of the reforms.
Minister for Skills John Barilaro told the Daily Liberal no campuses would be shut down.
Instead he said the focus would be on improving efficiency to reduce costs.
That is likely to involve shedding jobs, because the main focus of the restructure is on cutting out the backroom staff.
The Minister said staff would be “affected” by the changes.
However he wasn’t too forthcoming with just how big the effect would be.
Whatever happens next, it is important that the reputation isn’t damaged any more.
TAFE is important to businesses and the economy, most particularly in the regions where job skills are scarce.
NSW needs a healthy TAFE because it can make NSW healthy.
