Naval Shipbuilding College means a TAFE revival, Christopher Pyne says

TAFE SA is off the naughty list with the Australian Skills Quality Authority revoking the suspension of ten courses — as it becomes a crucial cog in Australia’s shipbuilding industry.

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TAFE SA is off the naughty list with the Australian Skills Quality Authority revoking the suspension of ten courses.

The Authority audited TAFE last year, and in December suspended ten qualifications in areas including plumbing, cooking, motorcycle mechanical technology and abattoirs.

That decision plunged the vocational education and training body into crisis — the chief executive resigned and the chairman was sacked.

ASQA issued a statement no Wednesday saying while there were still some minor issues, TAFE SA had “expended significant effort and resources in order to successfully achieve compliance with the requirements of the VET Quality Framework and had co-operated with the regulator throughout the process”.

“ASQA’s review of TAFE SA’s reconsideration application found that TAFE SA had provided sufficient evidence that it had rectified significant noncompliances,” the statement said.

It comes as TAFE SA becomes a crucial cog in Australia’s shipbuilding industry, the Federal Government says.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne on Tuesday announced details of the SA-based Naval Shipbuilding College, with TAFE to be a major player in training up the submarine and shipbuilders of the future.

Premier Steven Marshall confirmed he was already dismantling the TAFE board in the wake of a scathing assessment that found TAFE courses were substandard. He intends to replace the board.

Meanwhile the federal regulator, the Australian Skills Quality Authority, is poised to release its final report into the embattled institution.

Mr Pyne said they were not satisfied with TAFE last year because of the “previous scandal under the Labor Government” but now they were satisfied.

Mr Marshall said TAFE was “incredibly crucial for the shipbuilding college in SA”.

“We will get TAFE right,” he said.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne at the air warfare destroyer construction yard in Osborne for the naval college announcement. Picture: AAP / Russell Millard

The Federal Government will initially invest $25 million in the college, with enrolments to start after June to train workers including welders and electricians to work on the $90 billion shipbuilding program.

The college will be managed by a Naval Shipbuilding Institute.

The Federal Opposition pointed out that the college was meant to begin on January 1, but the Government blamed the TAFE debacle for the delay, while Labor said it was the timing of the SA election.

Now there is a Liberal Government in the state, the concerns were “magicked” away, Labor said.

Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles said SA workers were itching to get stuck into the projects but accused the Government of being “happy to make them wait until the political moment is right”.

The Government needed to make decision based on national security, not the “electoral cycle”, he said.

Peak industry body the Defence Teaming Centre will work with the Institute as part of the team to make sure “the college’s mission is properly executed and meets the workforce requirements of industry”.

“It is pleasing to see that (the Institute) have sought shipbuilding expertise from Australian education, training, academic and business sectors,” chief executive officer Margot Forster said. “This collaboration is essential to ensure we develop a sovereign education platform from which to develop shipbuilding careers for many generations to come.”