The Age | 24 June 2014
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Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT), one of Victoria’s biggest TAFEs will cut up to 170 teaching and administrative jobs, after reporting a loss of nearly $30 million and a fall in student enrolments by more than 5000 in 2013 .
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NMIT’s interim chief executive Ron Gauci said he had been briefing staff on the changes. He said the range of redundancies, between 150 and 170, included positions that 
had already been cut this year. However, he declined to reveal how many job cuts had taken place to date.
We haven’t made any announcements. I’ve maintained a commitment to keep the staff informed. I’ve started the process this week of giving them briefings.
Gauci said the TAFE is working on areas in which the business could grow.
The Australian Education Union’s Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said teaching, administrative and management roles would be made redundant. She said the state government had “ripped the heart out of TAFE” and more than 2500 TAFE teachers were facing unemployment because of funding cuts.
But Higher Education and Skills Minister Nick Wakeling said operational decisions, including employment, were NMIT’s responsibility.
Under the Victorian Coalition government, recurrent funding for TAFEs has increased from $487 million in 2010 to $600 million in 2013.
Opposition higher education spokesman Steve Herbert said NMIT ias sacking staff and cutting courses “right at the very time when young people out there need a training opportunity more than ever”.
