Minister for Skills and deputy premier John Barilaro has defended TAFE NSW reforms across the state despite fears from the NSW Teachers Federation (NSWTF) job cuts will continue.
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NSWTF organiser Rob Long told the Post at least one permanent teaching job and multiple permanent support staff positions will be axed from the Goulburn campus over the following months.
In the past 18 months, six permanent jobs have been cut from the Goulburn TAFE, a figure Mr Long says is not good enough.
“This is a sustained attack on TAFE students,” Mr Long said.
“Since 2013 there has been cuts now the fine arts section in Goulburn and Moss Vale are closed. The current concerns about cuts is plumbing apprentices who have to travel to Wollongong.”
Speaking to Goulburn TAFE teachers, Mr Long said staff “can’t work out what they've done wrong” and did not want to protest in fear of job insecurity.
The union organiser also criticised the Department of Industry Smart and Skilled initiative which has encouraged competition with private training providers rather than guaranteed funding for the TAFE sector.
“The private model the Berejiklian government has in our experience hurts towns like Goulburn,” Mr Long said.
“You’ve lost teachers, you’ve lost sections, it’s hard to keep a college viable like this.”
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However Mr Barilaro maintains it was the NSWTF who supported the government’s reformation, now repeating “throw away lines”.
“The NSW Teachers Federation have supported the minister’s approach of the restructure for TAFE. What we have said in the restructure is that we want to see more teachers on the ground, more support staff, more front line services and opportunities to students,” he said.
“They keep talking cuts, cuts and the loss of jobs comes when you have no students. Yes, there’s going to be people who lose jobs in the back office rooms but we are looking at more front line teachers.
“For me you need to build the skilled workforce if you want to build a strong economy.”
Mr Barilaro said other states were looking to NSW for guidance in bolstering their vocational sector.
“We used to run 10 separate institutions and duplicated a range of functions. What we’ve done, with the support of the teachers federation, is to bring it all together,” he said.
“Every dollars saved remains in TAFE.”
A group of protesters stood outside the Goulburn campus on Thursday to spread the message as part of the Community Cabinet.
