The Australian | 19 October 2012
At least 95 jobs could go and training could be slashed from Australia’s oldest vocational college, as NSW replicates Victoria’s wholesale cuts to TAFEs. Confidential proposals at Sydney Institute would see courses deleted or rationalised as Australia’s biggest TAFE reins in costs in response to private competition, state budget cuts and further anticipated market reforms.
A document marked “cabinet in confidence” proposes cuts to automotive, business, accounting, retail, fine arts and pre-tertiary training, with courses scrapped from up to four of the institute’s eight campuses.
At least four courses could completely disappear in aviation, optical dispensing and naval architecture. None of these is offered at other NSW TAFEs, apart from optical dispensing which is also available online.
Sydney Institute director David Riordan said the document had been prepared for staff consultations during the first part of a three-stage reform process. He said the proposed job cuts weren’t “set in cement” and that about 20 of the positions were already vacant.
AEU TAFE secretary Pat Forward said state governments were “cutting budgets even before what we think will be more serious reforms”. She said TAFEs were being weakened at the very time they were being sent to compete in an open market.
