Education minister tells TAFE boss Jon Black to quit uni assault
UPDATE: NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes has slapped down the head of TAFE in an extraordinary missive after Jon Black declared war on university rivals.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NSW Education Minister Rob Stokes has slapped down the head of TAFE in an extraordinary missive after Jon Black declared war on his university rivals.
“It is a mistake to talk down the value of universities in a populist attempt to pit the higher education and vocational education sectors against each other,” Mr Stokes said today.
“We should be careful not to reduce the value of a university degree to an assessment on whether it prepares a student for one specific job which may not exist in the future.”
His comments come after The Daily Telegraph revealed Mr Black will tomorrow tell career advisors that university degrees leave students burdened with heavy debts and fewer prospects for employment.
“Why is it that every Uber driver I speak to has a communications, business or law degree,” he will ask the Careers Advisors Association annual conference tomorrow.
But Mr Stokes said that commentary “relied on anecdotal examples and not facts”.
Editorial: Time to trade in that degree
“The truth is that a university education significantly lifts your chances of getting a job -- and being paid more over your lifetime,” he said.
“Both sectors are vitally important to NSW, and it is important that people have a range of choices when it comes to tertiary education.
“It is unhelpful to suggest that one is better than the other.”
Mr Black will go on to say tomorrow: “While there is obviously an important role for universities in our nation’s future, a (vocational education) pathway to a job and a career should be regarded as a valid and inspiriting first choice.”
“Often earning a degree is just where the trouble starts for uni leavers ... and would you rather finish with a $4000 debt or a $30,000 debt?”
But TAFEs did not escape criticism from the Productivity Commission, which found some of the courses offered by training providers and private colleges was out of date before it was even taught to students.
“As a result, employers complain of qualifications that do not meet their needs and individuals find it hard to know where to obtain a quality training program,” the report read.
Universities Australia slammed the Productivity Commission report, saying it neglected to mention that most graduates ended up in jobs within three years.
READ MORE: The robots will steal our jobs, but we’ll be busy enjoying ourselves
“Not every graduate will walk straight into a job on the Monday after graduation — but 90 per cent will be in a full-time job within a few years of finishing their studies,” UA chief executive Belinda Robinson said.
Mr Black said a third of students at TAFE’s Ultimo campus already had a university degree but came back to study “because they know that it’s us who can get them into work”.
Research published earlier this week by the National Centre for Vocational Education showed that although students were interested in vocational or technical careers, such pathways were often a second choice.