The federal government has launched a nationwide advertising campaign to urge more Australians to take up tuition-free training programs for jobs in high-demand sectors, such as construction, child care, and culinary arts.
The Albanese government said that it is funding an additional 300,000 technical and further education (TAFE) and vocational education and training (VET) scholarships from January 2024 after witnessing 215,000 Australians enrolling to study in the first six months of Fee-Free TAFE, exceeding the target of 180,000 enrollees in the first year.
“The advertising campaign, which launches today, aims to ensure that school leavers, people looking to retrain or change careers, and groups who have historically been locked out of the labour market know that the opportunity is there to study Fee-Free in sectors that will provide stable, well-paid jobs,” said Brendan O'Connor, Minister for Skills and Training.
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said that nurses have topped the list of the workers in demand with direct VET entry pathways, along with software programmers, motor mechanics, child carers, aged and disability carers, metal fitters, electricians, social workers, chefs, and construction managers.
Fee-Free TAFE prioritises groups of people that normally face barriers to work and study including First Nations people, the youth aged 17 to 24, job seekers, unpaid carers, women in non-traditional fields of study, and people with disabilities.
“Acknowledging the behavioural barriers and improving workforce diversity in certain occupations will also reduce the likelihood of skills shortages and open up the potential for improved wages and working conditions,” said Mr. O'Connor.
Australia will also need 2 million workers in building and engineering trades by 2050 with the report noting that the country has insufficient capacity in its training and migration pipelines to meet the demand.
Universities Stress Crucial Role in Preparing Australia for a Clean Energy Future
Meanwhile, universities said that they need the right funding and policy settings to ensure that they are well-equipped to work with vocational education providers including TAFE to help produce the number of workers the country needs.“Our transition to a clean energy future cannot be completed without a highly skilled workforce and substantial research and development, which means it cannot be achieved without our universities working hand in glove with TAFE and vocational education providers,” said Universities Australia CEO Catriona Jackson.
“University researchers are responsible for printable solar panels, while university-educated engineers are designing and delivering renewable energy projects across the country.”
Group of Eight (Go8), composed of Australia’s leading research-intensive universities, said that the skills shortage in the country is getting worse, with 36 percent of occupations assessed as being in shortage, up from 31 percent in the previous year.
“Collectively the Go8 is responsible for 70 percent of the university sector’s research and graduates more than 110,000 students each year, including training high quality future employees—doctors, engineers, lawyers, graduates in AI, space, quantum computing, and cyber security—all of whom are in high demand from existing and emerging industries,” said Go8 Deputy Chief Executive Matthew Brown.
“It is an economic certainty that research and innovation will be at the heart of driving productivity gains and secure employment for the nation, as well as underpinning digital transformation and the transformation to a clean energy future.”
“It is essential that the national roadmap includes the integration of world-leading research capability and capacity into Australia’s future workforce.”
