TAFE job cut fear

SOME TAFE teachers aren’t feeling very festive this holiday season, with fears rife that there could be more job cuts next year following State Government budget cuts.
While many TAFE teachers have lost their job coming into the Christmas season, Peter Malone, an applied science teacher from across Berwick, Cranbourne and Frankston Chisholm TAFE’s said he was relieved to learn recently that he would keep his job next year. He said some of his colleagues were not so lucky. However, he still had fears that he could lose his job in the future.
“We were worried last year from October to December because of the $30million cut across TAFES in Victoria. Then this year, when we learned of the $290million cuts were very worried,” Mr Malone said.
“I didn’t really know my job was secured until a few weeks ago. But next year is going to be worse and everyone will still be living in fear… there are still jobs on the line. “
Mr Malone said he thought the State Government was “taking advantage” of teachers and other professionals in the education or healthcare sectors.
“The government knows that people like teachers and nurses who care for others are reluctant to stop doing that, so they are eroding working conditions in a huge way because they know we will continue to care for students,” Mr Malone said.
“We will be carrying a greater workload next year, we will have less administrative assistance and a lot less time for students.”
Mr Malone was one of more than 1000 worried people who signed a petition about the over $290million in cuts to Victoria’s TAFE system, which was submitted to state parliament last week.
La Trobe MP Laura Smyth presented the petition to state members Eastern Metropolitan Region MP Shaun Leane and Narre Warren North MP Luke Donnellan.
Ms Smyth said the number of people who signed in the Casey area alone showed how many were concerned how funding reductions to education and training would damage their communities.
“A huge number of people have told me that they are worried this will have serious and detrimental effects on the economy we have now and the economy we could have in the future. I hear from people about it every day, by phone, email, at street stalls and out in the community,” Ms Smyth said.
“We need a strong TAFE system, particularly in my electorate where Berwick’s Chisholm Institute is responsible for developing well qualified graduates who will go on to get jobs across Victorian industries.
“The State Government is hinting about amalgamating TAFEs and what I say to them is find other ways to trim your budget and stop taking training resources away from suburbs on the outskirts of Melbourne which rely on them to support local industry and local jobs.”
Ms Smyth said the problems the State Government were now facing with the TAFE systems were all of its own making.
“Their policy position is so short-sighted it will be hard to get the system that we know – the system that has benefited so many job seekers young and old – back.”
Skills Minister Peter Hall said TAFEs were and would continue to be a vital part of the vocational system.
“The Victorian Government is investing an additional $1 billion over four years for training – the largest investment in training by any government in Victoria’s history,” Mr Hall said.
“Victoria provided a third of all state and territory investment in training delivery and support in 2011, funding a million more subsidised enrolments in vocational education than any other state.”
Mr Hall said the refocus encouraged more Victorians to take on training, with nearly 680,000 Victorians in training in September 2012 – up 31 per cent on the same time last year.
“Around 37,500 of those enrolments were in specialist occupations and in industries experiencing skills shortages – up 19 per cent in the first three-quarters of 2012,” Mr Hall said.
“Our Government increased funding for all apprenticeships and in other skills-shortage areas to encourage this growth.”