17 July 2015
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A new voice for the Australian TAFE sector – TAFE Chairs Australia – has been established.
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TAFE Chairs Australia is made up of chairpersons (or equivalent) of TAFE from Australian States and Territories. The group comes together with a 
charter to raise the profile of VET and TAFE, as well as proactively engage on associated national issues.
Speaking at the Victorian TAFE Association State Conference about reform of TAFE in recent years, Warren Tapp, the inaugural chair of the group, said:
TAFE Chairs have an obligation to actively promote the important contribution TAFEs across Australia make to the national economy and growing productivity. There has been significant advancement within the VET sector nationally including new governance arrangements for some TAFEs. These emerging arrangements have given rise to the formation of TAFE Chairs Australia.
He said TAFE Chairs bring a commercial and governance focus from outside government and the VET sector as a key contribution to national discussions about VET and TAFE.
As we all know, TAFE is a key contributor to Australia’s workforce productivity, training more than 1.1 million students each year with 88% of graduates going onto employment or further education and is rated highly by employers:
- 92% are satisfied with the relevance of skills taught
- 90% are satisfied with teachers industry knowledge and experience
- 88% are satisfied with the cost effectiveness of TAFE training
Tapp emphasised that certainty of funding for vocational education and training is of paramount importance to national and state economies as well as business confidence.
The group is seeking are seeking early engagement with the Commonwealth government to guarantee replacement of the $516 million in Commonwealth funding for VET that is shown to decline from 1 July 2017.
Warren Tapp
Warren Tapp is a member of the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Council and was most recently the Chairperson of the former Southbank Institute of Technology Board and a member of the TAFE Reform Board. He has been a Non-Executive Chairman of eight Boards across a range of industries. He is a Company Director and has been appointed as the Chairperson of the TAFE Queensland Board. He was the founder and Managing Director of his own board consulting company and a lecturer for the Australian Institute of Company Directors on all corporate governance subjects locally and nationally.