The federal government will invest A$30 million to boost the number of construction teachers in the VET system.
The money will be used to increase the number of electrical and construction teachers, as well as those from Indigenous backgrounds.
In a speech to the National Press Club later today, Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles will say “equally valuing VET” will become one of the three priorities this term.
“Nine out of 10 new jobs will require some form of tertiary education, approximately half VET and half higher education,” he will say.
“We will only achieve the national goal of four in five Australians holding a TAFE qualification or a university degree if we break down that artificial barrier between vocational and higher education.”
Another priority will be boosting lifelong learning, a key area of need identified at the recent economic reform roundtable.
“It’s the concept that knits together how we should be thinking about supporting people to navigate a changing world, on their terms,” he said.
“In the context of generative AI, and indeed more generally, we are witnessing changes in demand for skills and [we] should anticipate this accelerating.”
This comes months after Giles told the Australian Financial Review that Australia should be aiming for a 50/50 split with students going into university and vocational training.
According to Giles, nine out of 10 jobs are expected to require some form of tertiary education, and for every new qualified tradie, 2.4 houses can be built each year, according to research from Master Builders Australia.
Fee-free TAFE has resulted in more than 650,000 enrolments across the country, with 170,000 of those courses already completed.
Job seekers and people living with disability comprised 200,000 enrolments, while more than six in 10 are women.
