Real Action on Australian Technical Colleges
13/08/10
A Coalition Government will commit $740 million to provide the facilities and resources required to help young people achieve the skills they need to be prepared for work.
We will provide grants to develop a national network of up to 30 Australian Technical Colleges at a cost of $690 million over the forward estimates.
Australian Technical Colleges will be provided with grants of up to $25 million and will provide a pathway for young Australians into technical and vocational training. The curriculum will have an emphasis on real world skills development to enable students to fast-track the eventual completion of specific trade training.
Students of these Colleges will also undertake academic, information technology and business courses. This will result in better employment opportunities and foster capabilities for successful self-employment.
Australian Technical Colleges will be established through a public-private partnerships model involving small and large businesses, private and public training and education organisations as well as government and non-government schools.
Teaching staff will come from both industry and existing education systems. Colleges will be run autonomously by the principal and independent boards. Boards will comprise of representatives of local industry, community and education providers.
The Coalition will seek applications for the first round of Australian Technical College funding within three months of coming to office. It is anticipated that funding could commence in the 2010-11 financial year. It is envisaged that the first funding round would approve 12 applications.
Funding for remaining Colleges would be made available progressively over the forward estimates to support their establishment within the first term of a Coalition government.
Subject to appropriate evaluation and assessment, first round locations would include:
Victoria – Melbourne Western Suburbs and Colac
South Australia – Adelaide and Upper Spencer Gulf
Western Australia – Peel Region
New South Wales – South Coast, Central Coast and Sydney Western Suburbs
Queensland – Central Queensland and Tropical North Queensland
Tasmania – Northern Tasmania
Nothern Territory - Darwin
The Coalition’s network of Australian Technical Colleges will replace Labor’s Trade and Training Centres. However, given many schools have applied for funding under Labor’s programme, the Coalition will honour all funding commitments made in the first three rounds of the Trade and Training Centres programme. The Coalition will seek to renegotiate contracts to integrate Trades Training Centres into the Australian Technical Colleges network through an outreach programme. An initial $15 million will be allocated towards costs related to the integration of existing Trades Training Centres into the new Australian Technical Colleges network.
The previous Coalition Government established 24 Australian Technical Colleges and a significant rollout of further Australian Technical Colleges was planned. These were cancelled by Labor after the 2007 election.
As many of these Colleges continue to operate, the Coalition will seek to integrate former Australian Technical Colleges into the network. We will commit $35 million towards the integration of these facilities.
Labor has been all talk and no action on skills and training. Despite Labor’s promise at the last election to deliver a Trades Training Centre for every secondary school, only 22 are operational.
Australia is facing a national skills shortage and real action must be taken to ensure access to quality training to develop valuable, real world skills.