TAFE SA on the frontlines as SA Budget clears the decks for AUKUS

A massive funding injection for TAFE is set to provide bountiful opportunities to train people for jobs of the future.

More than 160,000 South Australians will gain crucial skills needed for the jobs of the future, including in defence, clean energy and early childhood education, as part of a record funding boost for the state’s training sector.

Treasurer Stephen Mullighan has committed almost $693m over the next five years to offer more places at TAFE SA, lift course completion rates and crack down on substandard training providers.

There will also be changes to course content to ensure graduates have the abilities employers need.

Students Hudson Scott, Rory Frichot, Hudson Scott, Blaine Whalan and Willow Lim at BAE. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“We want to make sure that we are equipping our workforce so that they’ve got the skills for the abundant jobs that are coming to us,” Mr Mullighan said.

“We need to be planning for the future now, to create a high-quality trained workforce to deliver the huge projects that we will be undertaking in this state, including AUKUS (submarine building) and the (planned) hydrogen plant.”

Mr Mullighan said the Budget allocation represented a 43 per cent increase in skills funding “to set our state up for the future”.

The largest slice ($275.6m) will go to creating more than 160,000 training places at TAFE SA and other organisations over the next five years, in fields including defence, health, construction, early childhood education, clean energy and information technology.

More than $53m will also be spent on consulting industry leaders and updating courses to “make them more tailored to industry needs”.

While more South Australians are enrolling in vocational education or training courses “fewer and fewer” are finishing them, Mr Mullighan said, noting the overall completion rate had fallen to about 50 per cent.

To reverse that trend the Budget includes $56.2m to better support students to overcome barriers to completion, manage financial stress, find housing or acquire foundational study skills.

Other commitments include:

$62.6m for an audit and investigations blitz to ensure training organisations and employers are compliant and keeping apprentices safe.

$18.3m to increase the number of Aboriginal people with a Certificate III level qualification or higher.

$13.3m to encourage school leavers to take up defence traineeships.

$9m to address skills shortages and job vacancies in regional areas.