Industry Minister Macfarlane says skills and training system needs urgent repair

What did the Federal Minister have to say about the skills and training system?  The TAFE Community Alliance suggests that the answer is quite clear about the need to properly fund and support TAFE, rather than continuing to undermine it. 

Industry Minister Macfarlane says skills and training system needs urgent repair

The Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane says that skills and training needs significant reform and better targeted spending to fix serious structural problems.

Speaking on ABC Radio National Breakfast last week, the Minister described the skills and training system as a “convoluted mess” left by the former government.

Planned reforms were needed “so that we are actually producing skilled people who are literate and numerate” and able to make a productive contribution to the workforce.

The Minister hosed down any suggestion that the upcoming budget would see increased funds for areas such as training, TAFE or apprenticeships, saying there will be “efficient use of the money that’s there”.

“I can guarantee that the skills training that will be offered will be of a higher calibre and will present workers that are better ready, better work-ready, than we have seen in the past,” the Minister said.

“The reality is that we have inherited a system in the skills and training area which is so close to broken, that we have regular meetings now with people who say, ‘for God’s sake just fix this – it is so complicated, it is so heavily regulated, it is so over-audited we’re not getting the results that we need to get’.”

Hear the Minister’s interview.