Former TasTAFE teacher says trainers are being driven out, with students suffering

A toxic workplace culture is driving out TasTAFE teachers at breakneck speeds, according to a former trades trainer who says he resigned in despair.

Labor TAFE spokesman Josh Willie.

A toxic workplace culture is driving out TasTAFE teachers at breakneck speeds, according to a former trades trainer who says he resigned in despair.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said the turnover at the training facility was at extreme levels – leaving young Tasmanians with sub-par education upon entering their professions.

In the 2021 state election, the Liberal party promised to employ 100 additional TasTAFE teachers as part of a $114m investment in TasTAFE over four years.

But Labor TAFE spokesman Josh Willie said teaching levels had in fact gone backwards, describing the government’s proposed reforms as “botched”.

Mr Willie said between December 2021 and December 2022, staffing levels dropped by 1.8 full-time equivalent positions, from 415.2 to 413.2.

He said the organisation had been left with “a terrible workplace culture that struggles to attract quality trainers, with many teachers instead leaving”.

“There are many students with the potential to be part of the skilled workforce Tasmanian businesses are crying out for – but they can’t gain those skills without teachers to take the courses they need,” Mr Willie said.

A former trades trainer said he spent about four years working at TasTAFE, with about 15 of his colleagues resigning during that time.

He described the workplace as “a toxic environment” with people that “makes your day-to-day work life a misery”.

The man said many of his colleagues didn’t feel comfortable speaking up.

He said when he resigned, he sent a “damning” email outlining the organisation’s problems to senior management and TasTAFE’s HR – but no action had ever been taken since.

“It’s a big concern that you can’t go to the higher powers to try to get this stuff sorted,” he said.

The man said with the mass exodus of teaching staff, TasTAFE was struggling to deliver its education effectively – with courses taking longer, with far more online delivery, and class numbers bumped up from an average of 10 students to 30 students.

“I see apprentices that can’t get their training,” he said.

Skills, Training and Workforce Growth Minister Felix Ellis. Picture: Simon Sturzaker

But Skills, Training and Workforce Growth Minister Felix Ellis said the government was “making good progress” on the reforms – and said Labor “cannot be trusted” when it comes to TasTAFE.

“It was Labor that dismantled TAFE as part of their disastrous Tasmania Tomorrow experiment, wasting tens of millions of dollars before backflipping in 2012 and encumbering the new entity with a $5 million debt,” he said.

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Originally published as Former TasTAFE teacher says trainers are being driven out, with students suffering