Federal Labor has outlined a billion-dollar plan to create more than 60,000 new university and TAFE places if it wins next year's election, with a bold promise of covering the fees of half a million TAFE students over the next four years.
Key points:
- Federal Labor unveils a $1.2 billion education and skills plan
- The plan covers the cost of 465,000 TAFE places, including 45,000 new spots
- An additional 20,000 university places will also be created
After being burned by an ambitious 2019 election campaign that was criticised as having a "cluttered and risky" agenda, the Federal Opposition Leader will on Sunday play to a policy area often considered a traditional strength of the Labor party: education.
Anthony Albanese will outline a $1.2 billion education and skills plan as he launches the party's unofficial election campaign, just days after announcing his party's climate change policy.
With the pandemic further exacerbating a serious skills shortage in Australia, the plan promises to boost workforce participation in struggling sectors, but relies on a future federal Labor government entering a shared funding arrangement with the states and territories.
A key feature of the plan is the promise to cover the cost of 465,000 TAFE places over the forward estimates, in areas hit hardest by COVID-19, like hospitality, tourism and construction.
That will include the creation of 45,000 new TAFE places.
Labor also argues there are not enough university spots to address skills shortages, and to see to that, the party is promising to create up to 20,000 new university places across 2022 and 2023.
Universities will receive funding over six years from 2021, with places prioritised for First Nations Australians, people in remote and regional areas, and those who are the first in their family to study at university.
Labor also campaigned heavily on education during the last election campaign in 2019, with this latest pitch echoing the party's $1 billion vocational education package promised three years ago.
Since then, the Coalition has overhauled university funding, increasing fees for degrees in areas like humanities while reducing the cost of courses in maths and nursing, to try to encourage people to study in areas where there are job shortages.
It also has implemented the JobTrainer program, giving people the opportunity to complete short courses related to a number of industries that will either be free or low-cost and put an extra $1.5 billion towards its apprentices and trainee wage subsidy program.
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2021-12-04 11:40:12Z
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