The 2024 Australian Government Budget contains some significant outcomes to support workforce skilling, reskilling and upskilling; however, its focus on the provision of skills training is where the Budget could have been stronger. That's the view of the Independent Tertiary Education Council Australia (ITECA), the peak body representing independent skills training, higher education, and international education providers.
"This budget could have done more to put students at the heart of the skills training system, where the Australian Government backs their decision to study with an independent training provider or public TAFE college," said Troy Williams, ITECA Chief Executive.
ITECA believes that the 2024 Australian Government Budget contains some exciting investments in the skills training system, including:
- Apprentice Incentive Support: $265.1 million over four years to provide targeted support under the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System. This includes a total of $5,000 of support for both apprentices and their employers in identified priority areas.
- Clean Energy Workforce: $91.0 million over five years to help skill the new energy workforce for the transition to Net Zero, including capital investment for industry RTOs and commitments to expand the clean energy trainer and assessor workforce.
- Construction Workforce Support: $90.6 million over three years to help skill the building and construction workforce, including a further 20,000 fee-free places to be delivered in partnership with the state and territory governments.
- Women in Skills Training: $55.6 million over four years for the Building Women's Careers program, which will support the development of projects that support women to engage in non-traditional industries, such as construction, clean energy, and technology and digital.
- Australian Universities Accord: $85.9 million over four years for the VET sector response to the Australian Universities Accord, including the implementation of the Commonwealth Prac Payment for Diploma of Nursing students and measures to harmonise arrangements across the tertiary education sector.
- Jobs and Skills Australia: $9.5 million to ensure that Jobs and Skills Australia has the data and analytical capacity required to deliver its functions.
"While the 2024 Budget presents opportunities for workforce development, it falls short in fully supporting students with independent skills training providers," Mr Williams said.
ITECA argues that the Budget's commitment to skills training underestimates the transformative power of independent Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) providers. More robust support for students studying with independent RTOs could unleash unprecedented workforce potential and innovation.
"The government missed an opportunity to amplify its impact on skills training by not fully backing independent providers. Supporting both independent quality RTOs and public TAFE colleges is key to a comprehensive national skilling strategy," Mr Williams concluded.
The 2024 Australian Government budget is critical to independent RTOs that support 89.4% of the 4.5 million student enrolments in skills training programs.
