Tussle over TAFE takes centre stage in Goulburn election battle

But shadow minister for TAFE and skills, Tim Crakanthorp has stopped short of a commitment to employing more permanent teachers, addressing what critics describe as casualisation of the workforce.

He visited Goulburn on Wednesday to support Labor candidate Michael Pilbrow's campaign.

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Mr Crakanthorp said the party would also channel 70 per cent of all vocational educational funding into TAFE annually, equating to $1.4 billion.

"The Coalition says it will invest a bit more during a skills crisis but that's not the case every year...Their figures are hollow. They released hundreds of thousands of dollars for free TAFE courses during COVID but the completion rate was just 20 per cent. Four out of five people didn't complete their course," he said.

"They can boast about enrolment numbers but the completion rate is what matters."

Goulburn MP Wendy Tuckerman says the Coalition is allocating 74pc of its $3.1 billion into TAFE NSW this financial year as part of a the sector's "record budget."

He and Mr Pilbrow said TAFE campuses had been "decimated" over the past 12 years. Figures requested through an Upper House standing order revealed that student numbers at Goulburn campus had dropped from 2332 in 2011 to 1294 in 2020. From 2012 to 2021, staff had decreased from 91 to forty.

At Moss Vale, student numbers declined from 1446 to 947 and staff from 43 to 18 over the same periods.

Mrs Tuckerman countered that enrolments at Goulburn had increased by 40pc from 2018 to 2022.

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Mr Crakanthorp said the same data showed 14 TAFE campuses had been sold off since 2012, including a section at 67 Verner Street, Goulburn, behind the Hume Conservatorium. He argued these could be used or leased to boost income.

"We've seen 5000 teachers sacked, enrolments across the state plummet by 160,000 and apprenticeships and trainee ships halved," he said.

"TAFE is a shadow of its former self and that's disappointing for the younger generation and people seeking to re-skill."

The shadow minister claimed the Yass campus had lost 54pc of staff from 2011 to 2020 and in 2021, only one staff member was assigned there.

He lambasted the government for "failing to address the skills shortage" through appropriately located courses. Bricklaying apprentices in Goulburn travel to either Bathurst or Queanbeyan TAFE campuses. There was no hospitality course and at Nowra, although the government had funded a new trades hub, students travelled to Goulburn to do plumbing.

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"We'll do a full scale review of every TAFE campus and the courses offered. We'll see what's being used, what the supply and demand is and how we can best work that," Mr Crakanthorp said.

The audit would also cover vacant buildings. Goulburn campus has two.

The shadow minister said the enrolment system was "broken" and there was a significant backlog in NSW.

Labor would also abolish the three per cent wages cap on teachers' pay and "negotiate in good faith" on a wages deal. Mr Crakanthorp argued this was the key to attracting more teachers and addressing the skills shortage.

But asked whether he'd appoint more permanent teachers, he shied away from a commitment at this stage.

Mr Pilbrow said while door knocking in Goulburn, Yass and Moss Vale, voters constantly raised TAFE as an issue.

"They're concerned about the lack of educational offerings...People just want to see it thriving again," he said.

"I've met with TAFE teachers and they're heroes, often covering multiple campuses. If we form government, there will be a real opportunity to build it back to where the community wants it to be."

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But Mrs Tuckerman said Labor didn't have a a genuine plan for Australia's "largest and best training provider."

"The (Coalition) has invested more than $3.2 million in TAFE NSW Goulburn since 2020. This includes a new plumbing sandpit to support hands-on trades training," she said.

"This investment has seen enrolments increase significantly and also meant, for example, that plumbing apprenticeship training has been re-introduced at Goulburn TAFE."

The MP said the government commissioned a comprehensive review of TAFE three years ago and had adopted several recommendations, including "establishing Careers NSW, building two new Institutes of Applied Technology and improving access to VET in high schools."

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