More tech colleges on their way

The Australian, Sid Marris, 29 October 2007; The Age, Ben Doherty and Farrah Tomazin, 30 October
2007; The Age, Bridie Smith, 30 October 2007; The Age, Farrah Tomazin, 30 October 2007; The Herald
Sun, Ben Packham, 30 October 2007; The Sydney Morning Herald, Phillip Coorey, 30 October 2007

 

Prime Minister John Howard has announced that a re-elected Howard Government will spend $2.1 billion on building
an additional 100 campuses across the country as part of the Australian Technical Colleges (ATC) programme. The initiative is a bid to bring Australia’s unemployment levels down to three percent within three years.

Mr Howard believes that the ten-year project will help to address Australia’s skills shortage. ‘Thirty or more years ago,
this country made a terrible education mistake, when it moved away…from dedicated technical schools,’ Mr Howard
said. ‘I want an Australia where a technical qualification is as prized an asset as a university degree.’

Thirty of the proposed new colleges will be stand-alone and will include two defence technical colleges. The remaining
70 colleges will be campuses set up within existing government and non-government schools that will be ‘converted’
to specialise in trades training.

Since the programme’s inception in 2004, 21 ATCs have been built and are now operating, while another seven are currently in the pipeline. The colleges offer students the chance to begin a trade apprenticeship in engineering, automotive, commercial cookery and building, construction and electrical trades as they complete their Year 12
academic certificate.

However, students who wish to complete their apprenticeship after having completed their Year 12 certificate must find
a TAFE institute or employer to take them on.

The federal Minister for Vocational and Further Education, Mr Andrew Robb, believes that the ATC programme is a ‘profound success’, and that the new further education option has been popular with secondary-school students who do
not want to go to university. Victorian Skills Minister, Ms Jacinta Allan, in opposing the ATC programme, said the ‘failed experiment’ would not provide a solution to the skills crisis.

The National Farmers Federation President, Mr David Crombie, has welcomed the announcement. ‘The majority of ATCs are currently situated in regional areas, therefore it is vital that as a major employer in rural and regional Australia, agriculture will have the opportunity to better support apprentices who are considering a career in farming,’ he said.

Ms Antoinette Hewitt, acting executive manager at the Eastern Melbourne Technical College, also welcomed the announcement, saying that the students are ‘snapped up’ before they even complete their Year 12 certificate. ‘It’s vital that students have their VCE as well as a skills qualification,’ she said.

 

 

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